Monster Trio
by Trafalgar Neo
Summary: Eerie sounds, hayrides, apple bobbin, and spine chilling scares are the best ways to spend Halloween. But the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates are in for the fright, and fight, of their lives when the Monster Trio gets turned into real monsters and crewmembers start disappearing. (Baby Cora will be in it too)
1. Halloween

Halloween

"We have to go!" Luffy shouted while jabbing his finger at the flyer he was holding.

"No, we do not!" Nami shouted back.

"Come on! It'll be fun!" Luffy grinned.

"What exactly is it?" Neo asked while running her eyes over the flyer. There was a man dressed in black in the middle of the flyer. He held his cape out to the side, revealing the red underneath it. Around him were several bats, pumpkins, and ghosts. The text read: Come Live the Real Horror of the Haunted Island of Willow. "A haunted island?"

Cora cooed and reached for the flyer. His little fingers curled around it.

"No, no, Cora." Neo pulled him away when he tried to put it in his mouth. "That's not good." She picked up one of his toys from the deck and handed it to him. "Here you can play with this."

Cora took the toy to his mouth.

"Don't listen to him, Neo." Nami turned her back to Luffy. "There's no such thing as a haunted island. It's just a gimmick."

"Really?" Neo looked from Nami to the poster.

"It's done at lot during this time of year," Sanji said.

"Why is that?" Neo asked.

"Because it's Halloween," Sanji said. "People fix up a lot of haunted houses and mazes and stuff. Apparently this guy went all out and decided to use an entire island to do it."

"Oh," Neo drawled. "I guess it is that time of year."

"And it's the best time of year!" Luffy leaned down closer to Neo. "You can dress up as anything you like!"

Cora whined and tugged on Neo's shirt at Luffy's loud voice suddenly right beside them. Neo rocked him.

"Stop yelling so much!" Penguin hit Luffy over the head. "You're upsetting Cora! And you dress up all the time as it is."

"Sorry." Luffy patted Cora on the head. "But he'll love it too."

"Cora's only four months old," Shachi said. "He won't even understand what Halloween is."

"So? Neo and Tra do. And it'll be fun to take Cora there," Luffy said.

"I don't know, Luffy," Neo said. "I think Cora would be scared. Law won't like that."

"Maybe you're the one who will be scared," Usopp said appearing beside her.

"Why would I?" Neo asked.

"You've never been to a haunted island before, have you?" Usopp asked. "Or a haunted house?"

"No," Neo said.

"Then you'll be scared. Take my advice. I'm a master when it comes to ghosts and zombies." Usopp nodded.

"Yeah. A master at running away," Zoro said curling his weight towards his chest. "Like you did on Thriller Bark."

"Hey! I wasn't scared!" Usopp snapped.

The pirates laughed.

"So we're going to do it! Yeah!" Luffy cheered.

"Hold on! No one said yes!" Nami said.

"I'm the captain! So we're going!" Luffy said.

"Hold on, Luffy." Franky walked down from the helm. "We're still with the Heart Pirates. We have to check with Trafalgar."

"But Neo's the captain of the Heart Pirates," Luffy said. "She can make the decision to go."

"Well, I do find it curious," Neo said. "Though I don't want to scare Cora."

"Cora will be fine," Luffy said. "Come on, Neo. Tell Tra we're going to Willow Island."

"You're an idiot, Straw Hat," Penguin said. "Neo's the co-captain."

"As I said, captain," Luffy said.

Law's Room spread out over the deck just before he and Bepo popped into view.

Cora smiled and cooed. His small arms reached out for Law. "Ba…da…"

Law smiled. Walking over to the mast bench he sat down then took their son in his arms.

"What's going on?" Bepo asked.

"Luffy wants to go to Willow Island," Neo said just as Luffy shoved the fly in Law's face. "They're celebrating Halloween there."

"No," Law said.

"Aw. Come on, Tra," Luffy said.

"Get that flyer out of my face before I kill you," Law said.

Luffy pulled it back. "It'll be fun. We're not doing anything right now anyway."

"No," Law repeated.

"Neo wants to go!" Luffy put his arm around her shoulders.

Law looked at her.

"Well, it does sound fun. But I'm not sure about going with Cora." Neo took their son's hand in her finger and brushed her thumb over it. She then gave Law a sheepish grin. "We never have celebrated Halloween before. Maybe it would be okay? We could just keep Cora away from all the scary stuff."

Law twitched.

"He's totally caving into her," Zoro said. "Sad how whipped he is by her."

"You have no room to talk considering how you acted with her in Dressrosa," Sanji said.

"What was that?!" Zoro growled.

"You heard me, stupid swordsman!"

"Don't those two ever get tried of fighting?" Shachi asked.

"Sometimes I think their energy gets renewed by fighting," Neo said.

"So we're going," Luffy said.

"We're not," Law said.

"I don't think that was a question, Captain," Bepo said.

"Yes! We're going!" Luffy leaped into the air.

"We didn't decide that at all!" Law snapped.

Cora fussed. Pulling on Law's shirt he tried to climb up his dad's body before yawning.

"Cora is getting tired. We should put him down for a nap," Neo said.

"Then he'll be rested when we get to Willow Island," Luffy said. "Good plan. Nami, how long before we arrive?"

"You should have asked that before saying Cora would be rested," Nami said sitting down at the table with Robin.

"How long?" Luffy asked.

"A couple hours I'd say," Nami said with a sigh.

"Well, I guess we're going to Willow Island," Penguin said.

Law growled.

"Don't fight it, Law," Neo said. "You know he's going to get his way no matter what we say."

"I know." Law sighed. "Let's go back to the sub. Bepo, you might as well get the sub headed in the right direction."

"Aye, Captain." Bepo nodded.

"Are you two coming back to the sub?" Neo looked at Penguin and Shachi.

"I think I'm going to stay here a while longer," Shachi said.

"I'll stay here too," Penguin added.

"Okay." Neo nodded. "Just call for us when you want to come home."

"We will." Penguin and Shachi waved before Law warped himself, Neo, their son, and Bepo back to the deck of the sub.

Cora yawned and rested his head on Law's shoulder before they stepped into the sub. At the second floor Bepo broke away from them and continued on downstairs to the control room. Neo and Law entered into their room. Law placed Cora in his crib.

"Are you upset about Luffy and going to Willow Island?" Neo asked.

"A little bit." Law turned to her. "But I know it'll make you happy. You were right about us never celebrating Halloween. It just always seemed to come and go so fast."

"Don't worry about it." Neo wrapped her arms around his waist. "How about I make it up to you now that we're alone?"

"That might make me feel a little better." Law leaned down and captured her lips in a slow kiss.

"Maybe I'll make you feel a lot better," Neo said between several kisses. "Cora is asleep after all."

"Thank goodness for that." Law slipped his hands down her sides and around her thighs before pulling her up.

Neo wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her over to their bed. Instantly their bodies were exposed to the warm air around them. "Law, that's cheating."

Law chuckled. "I'm not waiting. We only have a few hours."

Neo moan as Law's lips pressed against the soft spot on her neck.

…

Neo was brushing out her hair when Luffy pounded on their door and yelled at them. "Neo! Tra! We're about to Willow!"

"That guy has no concept of privacy," Law grumbled.

"Well, at least he didn't come when we were _busy_." Neo smirked at him.

"I would have shredded his body into a million pieces and stuck him into the farthest corners of the sub," Law said.

"Hey! Are you two sleeping?!" Luffy pounded again.

Cora cooed and mumbled from his crib.

"What is it, my heart?" Neo placed her brush down on the nightstand and walked over to their son. She scooped him out of the crib. "You hungry?"

"Neo?! Tra?!"

"He's annoyed that Straw Hat is bothering us." Law grabbed a shirt from the closet and pulled it on.

"He is not," Neo said. "Don't pay attention to Daddy. He's being a big baby."

"I am not being a big baby." Law walked over to them. "I'm being realistic."

Neo rolled her eyes. "Let's just go so Luffy will stop pounding on the door."

"Fine."

"And you're going to behave and enjoy yourself."

Law's lips curled into a smirk. His mind flooded with thousands of painful ideas he could inflict upon the Straw Hat crew, specifically their captain.

"And, no, you cannot scare the lives out of the Straw Hats," Neo said.

"You said I was to enjoy myself. That would make me enjoy a lot," Law said.

Neo rolled her eyes. "Well, I might let you have a little fun with them. But behave until I say you can."

"Yes, _Captain_." Law chuckled and pecked her lips.

"Hey!" Luffy called.

"We're coming, Luffy." Neo walked over to the door.

Law grabbed his sword and hat before following her.

"Finally," Luffy said when Neo opened the door. "You two were in there for a long time. What were you doing?"

"None of your business, Straw Hat," Law said.

"Was there something else you wanted, Luffy?" Neo asked heading down the hall.

"No. Just letting you know we're about there," Luffy said.

Cora fussed.

"I know. We're getting you something to eat now." Neo headed down the stairs and led the two men into the galley.

Smiling, Kailen held out a bowl of baby food. "I though you'd all be coming here soon. So I got it all ready."

"You're the best," Neo said. She sat down and placed Cora on her lap.

Kailen sat the bowl in front of them.

Cora giggled and reached for the bowl.

"Someone's impatient," Neo said. She scooped some food in the spoon and brought it to his lips.

Cora opened and chomped down on the spoon.

"He's hungry." Luffy sat down across from them. "Wait until we get to Willow Island. There's going to be a lot of food there. Be sure to save room for it."

"Straw Hat, our son is not old enough to eat the foods we do," Law said.

"Huh? Why?" Luffy asked.

"Idiot," Law grumbled and sat down.

"Because he's not old enough," Kailen said. "He doesn't even have his first tooth yet."

"That stinks." Luffy dropped his chin to the table. "I wanted him to try meat. I'm sure he'd like it."

"Maybe when he's older, Luffy," Neo said.

"There you all are," Bepo said poking his head into the room. "We're about three minutes until we land at Willow Island. Nami just called over."

"All right," Law said. "You know what to do."

Bepo nodded then disappeared.

Cooing Cora grabbed the spoon, causing the mashed vegetables to smear on his hand and fall on his lap. Smiling he rubbed the mush over his face.

"Cora." Neo shook her head. "Sometimes I think you do that on purpose to make me clean you up."

Cora made an unhappy noise.

"Don't worry, Cora." Law tweaked their son's cheek. "Mommy just doesn't know how to have fun."

"Hey! Don't gang up on me!"

"Here you go." Kailen handed Neo a wet cloth.

"Thanks." Neo wiped the food off Cora's face.

Cora turned his head away from her then reached for the bowl. His small hand wrapped around it and pulled it to his face. More mash vegetables splattered his face and legs. He giggled.

"Now I know you're doing it on purpose," Neo said. "And I blame your dad."

"Hey," Law said. "Why me?"

Neo winked at him. "Well, I'm not the mischievous one in the family."

"Yeah right." Law rolled his eyes.

"Never mind that. Let's get ready for some Halloween fun!" Luffy said. He jumped out of his chair and ran from the room.

"Always so full of energy," Neo said. "By the way, are we staying on the sub or getting a hotel?"

"I guess we can get a hotel. It's been a while since we've been off the sub," Law said. The sub pulled to a stop. "It'll be a nice break for everyone."

"Sounds great to me," Topaz said walking into the room. "I think some of the crew have been wanting that too."

"Spread the word then," Law said.

"Sure thing." Topaz nodded. "Any other orders?"

"Do you have any?" Law looked at Neo.

"No, I think I'm good just as long as they check in once in a while," Neo said.

"Of course." Topaz smiled and left the room.

"There. I think you're all cleaned up now." Neo scanned their son for missed food. "Maybe I should give him a bath?"

"He'll be fine," Law said. "Let's get going before Straw Hat comes back and annoys us."

Neo stood up and walked out of the room with him. They meet some of the crew on the deck before Law warped them to the island. A wave of uncertainty washed over Neo when her feet touched the island.

"What is it, Neo?" Law asked.

"I don't know," Neo said scanning the island. The harbor was full of ships but no one appeared to be around. And the town was at least a fifty yards from them. "Something doesn't feel right."

"It'll be fine," Luffy said heading down the dock. "Let's go check it out."

"Apparently he forgot about Neo's nightmares have a habit of coming true," Usopp said.

"Well, I haven't had a nightmare," Neo said.

"Then there's nothing to worry about," Nami said.

"Maybe," Neo said.

The two pirate crews headed towards the town. Happy chatter greeted them as they drew closer to the town. A large carved jack-o-lantern was sitting by an old sign that welcomed people to Willow Island.

"This pumpkin is huge!" Chopper said. "I wonder what they did to grow it so large."

"It's taller than I am," Brook said standing right beside the pumpkin.

"Neo can grown bigger ones," Sanji said.

"True." Neo smiled.

"I wonder if they're going to have a pumpkin carving contest," Kailen said.

"Why? So you can win by using your crystals?" Topaz asked.

"I never said I would enter," Kailen said. His tone was serious but his eyes sparkled with mischief. "I was just wondering if they did."

"Sure you were." Topaz shook her head.

"He wouldn't be able to beat Neo," Penguin said. "She's the best."

"You're biased," Kailen said.

"Of course I am." Penguin wrapped his arm around Neo's shoulders. "She's my girl after all."

"She was my sister first," Kailen challenged playfully.

"Well, I've know her longer," Penguin said.

"Technically, I have since I was there for her birth," Kailen said.

"Oh!" Penguin kicked at the earth elemental. "Run up an alley and holler fish."

"Good way to end a conversation," Kailen said. "Then how about we have a little carving challenge?"

"You're oh!" Penguin said. "But you can't use your crystals."

"Deal!" Kailen held out his hand for Penguin to shake.

"Pumpkin carving." Neo scanned her eyes over the large pumpkin in from of her. "Sounds like a waste of food."

"Don't worry, Neo," Sanji said. "I won't let them go to waste. It's been a while since I've made anything with pumpkins."

"Thanks, Sanji," Neo said. "Pumpkin treats sound nice."

"Well, let's find a hotel before it gets dark," Law said.

The crews walked forward. The town was bustling with people fixing up last minute decorations. Children ran by, talking about what they were going to dress up as. A few were already in their costumes.

"Are we supposed to wear costumes?" Neo asked.

"We don't have to," Law said.

"What?" Luffy popped up from out of nowhere. "We have to dress up! It's part of the fun!"

"No," Law said.

"I think it'll be cute," Neo said with a smile. She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Please, Law? We can even dress Cora up."

"Fine." Law sighed.

The women pirates giggled.

"Anything for the one he loves," Shachi said.

"Welcome to Willow Island!" a man bellowed out. There was a pop before a cloud of smoke appeared in front of the pirates. When the smoke cleared a man was bowing to them. "I didn't know we would be entertaining celebrities."

"Celebrities?" Zoro asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Apologies." He straightened up. "I guess celebrities isn't the right word to describe pirates."

Neo recognized him from the flyer Luffy had shown them. The man was wearing the same outfit. A shiver ran down her spine when he looked at her with his yellow eyes. Her arms tightened around Cora. She pressed her nose to his hair and breathed in his scent.

"You're the man on the flyer," Nami said.

"That would be me," he said. "My name is Blade. I am in charge of this Halloween fun. I assume that's what you all are here for."

"We are," Usopp said.

"Wonderful." Blade smiled. "I hope you all are ready for wonderful time full of fun and frights. But beware because when witches go riding, and black cats are see, the moon laughs and whispers, 'tis near Halloween."

With another pop and more smoke the man was gone.

"What was that about?" Usopp asked.

"It was kind of creepy," Brook said. "And that coming from a living skeleton."

"What do you think he meant by what he said about witches, black cats, and the moon talking?" Chopper asked.

"Just Halloween mumbo jumbo to try and scare us," Zoro said.

"I hope so," Neo said. "I didn't like him."

"I wasn't fond of him either," Law said.

"You don't like him because he looked at Neo." Sanji smirked.

Law didn't reply.

"Well, let's find a hotel," Nami said.

The pirates nodded and moved farther into town.

Neo continued to scan the area. Despite all the pumpkins lining the grounds, bat and ghost shaped figures hanging in front of stores, and spices filling the air from locate foods nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with the island.

…

"This place really goes all out for Halloween, don't they?" Neo asked as she ran her finger under some cobwebs hanging from the fireplace in their hotel room. She looked up to the corners of the room. Spider webs and cobwebs were all over their room, in the hall, and in the reception room. Smaller pumpkins had been carved out and lined the top of the fireplace. Bat and ghost decorations clung to the window. "I hope all those webs doesn't mean this place is infested with spiders."

"Relax, love," Law said. "I haven't seen a single spider since we've entered this place."

"Just because we don't see them doesn't mean they're not here," Neo said with a frown. She tightened her hold on their son. "I don't want Cora to get bit."

"Cora will be fine. Remember you're married to a doctor." Law kissed her forehead. "I can warp the poison out of him _if_ it happens. And it won't."

"Fine. But if it does I'm leveling this hotel," Neo said.

"That'll show them." Law chuckled.

"Hey! Neo!" Luffy called out before busting into the room with Usopp and Chopper following.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Law asked. "We could have been doing something private."

"Huh? Why would you want to do that? We're here to have fun," Luffy said.

"Sometimes I wonder if you even have hormones," Law said.

"What is it?" Neo asked.

"We found a list of what's happening on the island," Chopper said. "They have a lot of events and foods. They even have cotton candy!"

"Cotton Candy on Halloween?" Neo asked. "I thought that was more of a summer time snack."

"Who cares?! This place is amazing! They even have a costume store," Usopp said. "Some of us are heading over there now."

"You have to come with us!" Luffy said.

"Okay." Neo nodded. "Sounds like fun."

A loud creak passed through the room.

Chopper and Usopp screamed and grabbed onto each other. "What the heck was that?!"

"The building was probably just settling," Law said.

A cold breeze blew through the room.

"And that?!" Usopp and Chopper demanded.

"The window's open," Neo said.

"You guys are funny!" Luffy laughed. "Getting scared over an open window and a gust of wind."

"But it's warm outside," Usopp said.

"And none of us opened the window," Chopper said.

"They probably rigged the hotel to give the guests a scare," Law said. "Don't be stupid."

"He's right," Chopper said. "We came here for fun."

"Let's go shopping then," Usopp said.

"I hope we can find something really cute for Cora to wear," Chopper said as they walked out of the room and down the hall.

"Cora should be a little ghost," Luffy said.

"You're not dressing our son up as a ghost, Straw Hat," Law said.

"I think he should be a little pirate," Usopp said.

"That's a bit cliché, don't you think?" Neo asked.

"Cora would look cute as a pumpkin," Chopper said.

"I like pumpkins." Neo looked at Law. "We could go with that. Or an animal costume. Cora really does love Bepo."

"Cora loves all animals," Law said.

"Well, I guess I've figured out your costume already," Neo said.

"What would that be?" Law looked at her.

Neo smirked. "A grumpy old man."

Law frowned.

The Straw Hats chuckled.

"A grumpy old doctor!" Luffy said.

"Sounds good to me!" Usopp said.

"Yeah!" Chopper nodded.

"You three are so lucky Neo's right here," Law said. "If she wasn't I'd slice you all up into bloody little pieces. And what happened to being cliché?"

"Well, that's true. A doctor dressing up as a doctor would be cliché," Neo said. "Let's just see what they have when we get there."

"So what would you dress Neo up as, Tra?" Usopp asked.

"Something she wouldn't be allowed to wear in public."

"Law!" Neo flushed.

Law grinned. "What? You said you wanted me to have fun. I could have fun with that."

"Fun out in public!" Neo said. She ducked her head when the people in the lobby looked at her.

"So you're objecting to fun in private?"

Neo twitched. " N-no…"

"Then it's settled. You'll be getting two costumes." Law walked ahead of them.

"Why would Tra get Neo two costumes when she can only wear one at a time?" Luffy asked.

"Seriously. You really don't have hormones do you?" Usopp asked his captain.

"Hormones?" Luffy blinked.

"I'll explain it later." Usopp left the hotel. His eyes landed on a group of people surrounding Brook. The musician had his violin out and was playing a creepy tune.

"Brook seems to be having fun," Chopper said.

"So do the people around him. I wonder if they think he's part of the decorations," Usopp said.

"At least he's having fun," Neo said. She turned and rushed to catch up with Law. Her eyes scanned the town and people. They looked to be overly happy. "Everyone seems really happy here."

"Is that wrong?" Chopper asked.

"No," Neo said. "Not usually but I still feel like there's something wrong with this place."

"It'll be fine," Luffy said. "There's the costume store!"

The small group turned to the building. Just as they reached it Nami and Robin came walking out.

"Hello," Robin greeted them. Cora cooed and reached for the dark haired woman. She smiled as she pulled him into her arms. "And hello to you too, Cora."

"Finally going shopping for costumes, huh?" Nami asked.

"We sure are." Neo nodded.

"This place is great. We found costumes in no time," Nami said. "But…"

"But what?" Usopp asked.

"I'm not really sure exactly," Nami said. "But everyone here just keeps saying what a great guy Blade is. It's like they're brainwashed or something."

"Maybe they just like him," Chopper said.

"Maybe," Nami said. "You'll see what I mean when you get around the townspeople. Well, we'll see you later. We're going back to the hotel to change."

Robin passed Cora back over to Neo before walking off with Nami.

The group walked into the building. A cloud of fog passed over their legs. Sitting in the fireplace was a large cauldron bubbling with some kind of dark green liquid. A lady dressed as a witch smiled at them. "Welcome. Feel free to look around. And don't hesitate to ask for assistance if you need it."

"Great. Thanks." Usopp nodded at the woman.

The pirates scattered around the room.

Neo and Law walked towards the kids' section. Several costumes were hanging on the racks just watching to be picked. "Great. Now that we're here I have no idea what to get for Cora."

"It doesn't matter," Law said. "Get what you feel like."

"They're all so cute." Neo picked a cat costume up. She smiled then placed it back on the rack. "Maybe we should do a family theme or something."

"That would be absolutely adorable!" a woman said.

Neo turned. The woman dressed as a gyspy was smiling brightly at them.

"This is your first time on Willow isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes," Law said.

"You'll love it here. Blade is amazing," she said. "He's the best guy in the entire world. You'll all love him." She turned and walked off.

"Nami was right. That was odd," Neo said.

"She might be part of the attraction," Law said.

"I hope you're right," Neo said.

Cora cooed. Looking down at him they found he was reaching for a pumpkin costume.

"Looks like Cora has made up his own mind," Law said.  
"It would seem so," Neo said.

"Let's get your costume now." Law took her hand and pulled her over to the adult section.

Neo glanced around for their friends. They were close by trying on different masks. She smiled then turned her attention back to the costumes. Law already had one in his hand. It was a sexy nurse outfit. Her cheeks flushed. "Law!"

"If I'm dressing up as anything you're dressing up as this for me later," Law said.

Neo grumbled. "Fine. But not until we get back to the sub."

"Deal." Law pecked her lips. "Now pick out one to wear now to satisfy Straw Hat."

Neo exhale. Heat still radiating from her cheeks she scanned the costumes and picked out a fairy one.

"Cliché." Law smirked.

"I'm most comfortable with this." She lowered her voice and added, "And I can use my real wings. They've been twitching lately."

"So I've noticed." Law rolled his shoulders.

"Then let's get your costume and pay for it," Neo said.

Law nodded. After grabbing a white coat they paid for their purchases then looked back to the Straw Hats. The three pirates were still goofing off.

"Hey! We're going back to the hotel now," Neo called to them.

"Okay. We'll catch up with you later," Chopper said.

Neo and Law left the building. Reaching the hotel they found a large crowd gathered around it. Among them were some of their pirate friends.

"What's going on?" Law asked.

"Haven't you heard?" a woman said. "Two guests have gone missing."

"What?" Neo asked.

"They were in their room this afternoon. But when their friend went to have lunch with them they were nowhere to be found," she said.

"That's insane," Franky said. "No one just disappears without a reason."

"Perhaps it's part of the fun?" Robin asked.

"It could be," Nami said. "Let's not let this ruin our fun."

"This could be part of the fun," Shachi said. "Maybe they'll show up later dressed up as zombies or something."

"That would be fun," Penguin said.

"So how did shopping for your costumes go?" Kailen asked.

"Great." Law grinned.

"He made you buy something sexy, didn't he?" Penguin asked.

"Maybe." Neo flushed.

"And what about Cora?" Bepo asked while taking the baby from Neo's arms. He rubbed his fur against Cora's cheek, earning a happy giggle from the baby.

"He picked out the cutest pumpkin outfit ever!" Neo showed them the outfit.

"That is cute," Topaz said.

"So what are you all planning on dressing up as?" Neo asked.

"I'm not going to," Topaz said.

"Kill joy," Penguin said.

"It's my choice." Topaz crossed her arms.

"Okay," Penguin said. "We won't force you."

"Like heck we won't." Shachi grinned.

Topaz rolled her eyes then smiled. "I'd like to see you try." She summoned a fire crystal and lit it. "Did you forget about these?"  
"Shoot. I did forget," Shachi said.

"All well," Penguin said. "It was fun while it lasted."

"We should get going," Shachi said.

"We're going to figure out our costumes." Penguin kissed Neo's cheek before walking off with Shachi and Franky.

"What about you, Bepo?" Neo asked.

"I'm not sure what I want to do," Bepo said. "It's kind of warm here. So I don't really want to wear much of anything."

Neo nodded.

"You could also be a pumpkin," Nami said.

"A pumpkin?" Bepo looked at the navigator.

"You're already dressed in orange," Nami said. "All you need is the stem part of the pumpkin."

"I think that would be cute. You would match with Cora," Neo said.

"Okay." Bepo nodded.

"And I'll help you," Nami said. "Making that won't take very long at all."

"Thank you," Bepo said.

"We should get dressed as well," Neo said. "I'm ready to check the festivities out."

Law nodded. They headed into the hotel. Stepping into their room, Law started undressing Neo.

"Law, what are you doing?" Neo asked.

"Helping you dress." Law kissed her neck. "I have to wait to see you in the nurse outfit. I'm keeping myself entertained."

"You are so horny," Neo said.

"You do it to me." Law chuckled.

Neo rolled her eyes but allowed him to continue undressing and redressing her. Fifteen minutes passed before they finally got dressed and headed back outside.

"Oh! You all look so cute!" Nami gushed. "That pumpkin outfit for Cora is so adorable!"

"He does make a cute pumpkin." Robin smiled.

"Bepo makes a cute pumpkin as well," Neo said.

"Thank you." Bepo blushed.

Neo scanned her eyes around her friends. Robin was dressed as a cat. Nami was dressed as a witch. Topaz and Kailen didn't dress up at all. Brook didn't dress up either but with how everyone was complementing him on his costume one couldn't tell that if they didn't know him. Penguin, Shachi, and Franky decided to be zombies. Luffy dressed up like a mummy. Zoro had a fake scar down his temple and wore a scowl. Neo figured Luffy forced him to wear the scar. Sanji was a vampire. And Chopper was dressed as a bat. "You all look so cute."

"If anyone looks cute it's you, Neo," Sanji said. "You look so cute in that fairy outfit that I want to suck your blood."

Neo laughed.

Law scowled.

"I'm just kidding," Sanji said. "With those marks on her neck I'm sure you've done plenty of sucking."

Slipping his arm around Neo's waist, Law smiled.

"Don't look so smug." Neo elbowed him.

"Okay. So where do you want to go first?" Law asked.

"I don't know. I guess we can just walk around for a while," Neo said.

A pop. Smoke filled the air. The wind picked up and blew the smoke away to reveal Blade. He was bowing.

Neo flinched. She didn't know why but she felt like he was bowing to her, especially when he looked up and smiled. She frowned and tucked into Law's side.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Blade boomed. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. "Now is the time! So frolic and be merry! Because you never know when you'll receive a fright. So beware. When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on this Halloween."

"I really don't like him," Neo said after Blade disappeared once again.

"He does seem to have a habit of appearing and disappearing when you least expect it," Nami said.

"I don't like that he bowed and looked at Neo." Penguin crossed his arms and frowned.

"You don't like guys breathing the same air as Neo," Shachi said.

"So? I'm her brother. I'm suppose to be over protective," Penguin said.

"Not liking someone for breathing Neo's air is beyond over protective," Shachi said.

"Kailen agrees with me on this," Penguin said.

"I do?" Kailen asked.

"Kailen!" Penguin said.

"Sorry." Kailen chuckled. "I agree with you."

"Thanks." Penguin nodded.

"You two are pathetic," Shachi said.

"Something smells good." Neo sniffed the air. "Smells like caramel."

"There's a booth of caramel apples not far from here," Sanji said.

"That sounds amazing," Neo said. "I just hope there's not too much caramel on the apple."

"Only one way to find out," Sanji said. He took the lead.

Neo exchanged looks with Law before they headed into the festivities. "So where do you think Blade is in all of this?"  
"Who cares?" Zoro asked. "I'm sure he'll pop up soon."

Neo glanced around. She hoped he didn't pop up at all. But she was sure he would be.

…

 **Author's Note: Just a little Halloween fun with my favorite pirates. It might not be the best ever. And it won't be very long either. But enjoy it.**


	2. Festivities & Luffy Suddenly Changes

Festivities

Luffy Suddenly Changes

"There it is." Sanji pointed at a booth. Behind it was a man dressed as a scarecrow. He dipped an apple into a vat of caramel and swirled it around a few times.

Neo watched the man carefully. He picked up another apple, shoved a pointed stick into one end, and then dipped it into the caramel. "Oh."

"I think she's hooked on just watching," Robin said.

"She loves cooking after all," Nami said. "She'll probably make them for the crews now."

"I'll get her one." Sanji stepped up to the booth. He paid for one then walked over Neo. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Neo took it from him. She inspected it before taking a small lick of the caramel. "Oh, so sweet." She took a bite. Caramel washed over her tongue. A string of warm caramel fell onto her chin. "Oops."

Law reached out. He swiped his finger over her skin, taking the caramel onto his finger, and then placed it to Cora's lips.

Cora parted his lips and took his finger. His eyes lit up at the sweet flavor.

"So good," Neo said. "I had no idea something like this was possible."

"Anything is possible when it comes to food, Princess," Sanji said with a bow.

"I still have a lot to learn." Neo took another bite of her apple. "If I don't eat too much sweets I'm going to have to get another one."

"Hey! Neo! Check me out!" Luffy called.

Neo turned to see Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper kneeling around a bucket. "What are they doing?"

"Bobbing for apples," Nami said.

"Bobbing for apples?" Kailen asked.

"Someone places apples in a bucket of water," Sanji explained. "Then you stick your head in it and try to grab an apple with your teeth."

"Let's check it out." Neo lead them over to it.

"This is so much fun," Chopper said before dunking his head into the water. He popped up with an apple in his mouth.

"My turn!" Luffy put his head in the water.

"Is it safe for them to do that?" Neo asked.

Luffy lifted up with four apples in his mouth.

Neo sighed. "I guess so.

Luffy chomped down on the apples.

"Luffy, if you keep this up this festival will run out of food," Nami said.

"Typical Straw Hat," Penguin said.

"I'd like to see you get four apples," Shachi said.

"How could I? Straw Hat's made of rubber," Penguin said. "His mouth can stretch."

"Afraid you can't even get one?" Shachi smirked.

"Of course not! Move over!" Penguin stepped up to the bucket.

"You two." Neo shook her head before taking a bite of her apple.

Cora reached for it. His fingers ran along the caramel coating.

"Cora," Neo said. "Behave yourself."

"Looks like he's got a sweet tooth." Robin smiled.

Cora brought the caramel to his mouth. His eyes lit up.

"Unlike his mother," Zoro said.

"Shut up! That's not her fault, you idiot swordsman!" Sanji snapped.

"I was just stating a fact!" Zoro glared.

Neo giggled. "You two are so funny. That's enough fighting now."

"Yes, my sweet fairy!" Sanji cooed. "Anything you say!"

"Hey, Law! Why don't you bob for an apple?" Neo's eyes glittered.

"No." Law frowned.

"Aw, come on." Neo fluttered her eyelashes. "Our son would love to see you stick your head in a bucket of water."

" _You_ would like to see me stick my head in a bucket of water," Law said. "You didn't guard your thoughts well."

"Rats." Neo wrinkled her nose. "I was too distracted by the caramel apple."

"Try harder next time." Law kissed her forehead.

"Okay." Neo pouted.

"Let's check out the haunted house next," Luffy said.

"Haunted house?" Neo asked.

"It's a house decorated for fun and scares," Sanji said. "They have things like people hiding in dark places, distorted mirrors, creepy music and the like."

"Sounds like fun. Though I don't want to expose Cora to that," Neo said.

"I can watch him while you go inside," Kailen said.

"Are you sure?" Neo asked.

"Of course." Kailen nodded. "You should go."

"Well, okay." Neo kissed Cora's forehead then passed him to her brother. Slipping her hand into Law's they walked over to the haunted house a few building down from where they were.

"I'm coming too!" Chopper said.

"Me too!" Usopp ran over with them.

The small group entered into the house. The living room was lit with blue lights. Cobwebs were hung all around; one was large sporting a fake spider in the middle of it. A cackle filled the air.

"Well, that was inviting," Neo said. She spotted three doors in the room. "Which way do we go?"

"I guess it doesn't matter," Law said.

"Let's go this way!" Luffy ran through an open door to his left. The others followed him. They entered into a hallway. Orange lights appeared behind walls with openings cut in them. As they passed bats flew up in some of the openings. Another one had a hand reaching out for them.

Neo jumped at the hand.

"It's okay, Neo," Law said pulling her away from the hand. "They're not going to touch you. It's just for fun."

Neo nodded. Moving away from the hall they walked down a flight of stairs to a basement. Light flashed like lightning. A body swung down from a dark corner. Some of the pirates screamed. Luffy laughed. And Neo grabbed onto Law's arm. Her heart raced until she noticed the body was a dummy. "Oh. It's not real."

"That was so cool!" Luffy tugged on the dummy's leg. "It looked so real for a moment."

"That was scary!" Chopper held his chest.

"I should have stayed outside with Cora," Usopp said.

"Why? This is amazing," Luffy said.

"Maybe to you," Usopp grumbled as they moved on. They passed some distorted mirrors.

Luffy stopped to make faces in them.

Neo scanned the mirrors as she and Law walked passed them. The mirrors made them shorter, taller, flattened out their heads, and made them look like noodles. "I wonder how they get those mirrors to do that."

"Beats me," Law said. He looked back to Luffy who was still making faces in the mirrors. "Can we leave him here?"  
"No," Neo said.

"Why not? He's at home here," Law said. "A childish game for a child."

"Oh, hush." Neo smacked him on the chest.

"Let's go, Straw Hat," Law said.

"Coming!" Luffy ran towards them.

They stepped into the next room. A man jumped out with an ax. Chopper and Usopp screamed. Neo jumped. Luffy laughed. Law rolled his eyes.

Heading back up stairs each step they took made the stairs creek. A cat screeched and ran in front of the door.

"That's just corny," Law said.

"I wonder if the cat was part of it or if it came in here on it's own," Neo said.

"We could go after it and you could ask," Law said.

"You're just trying to get out of this," Neo said.

"Of course I am." Law smirked. "This is childish."

Neo huffed and shook her head. They proceeded through the house for several more minutes before finally exiting and rejoining the others.

"Did you have fun?" Kailen asked.

"It was fun and scary," Neo said. "But I'm glad we did it. You'll have to check the place out too."

"Maybe later," Kailen said.

"So how was Cora?" Neo leaned over to look at their son.

"Well behaved as always," Kailen said. "Though he did get really excited when a cat ran out of the haunted house. I think he wanted to take it home."

"Oh? Maybe we'll get you a pet one day," Neo said. Looking over her shoulder she grinned mischievously at Law.

"You know the rules on that, love. It's not going to happen," Law said.

"Well, we'll see," Neo said.

"So what shall we do now?" Usopp asked.

"Oh! Look! Horses!" Neo squealed. Without giving anyone a chance to respond she rushed over to the horses. The horses flicked their ears before rubbing their heads on the elemental's arms. "You're so cute!"

Laughter came. "Well, I've never see them so affectionate with anyone before."

"You two are just so cute!" Neo said, not paying attention to the person speaking.

"You'll have to forgive her," Sanji said. "She really loves animals."

"I see." The man nodded.

"You two are attached to a wagon," Neo said. "Are you okay with that? Oh? That's good. I'm glad you're having fun."

"She's talking to them," the man said.

"She does that too," Law said.

"Well, I'm about to take a group on a hayride. Would she liked to come too?" the man asked.

"Hayride?" Neo asked. Looking up from the horses she noticed the man for the first time. "What's a hayride? You can't ride hay. It's not alive."

"Never heard of them, huh?" the old man asked. "You just sit in the back of the wagon here and enjoy the right."

Neo looked into the back of the wagon. Hay bales were lined up on the side while some was scattered loose on the wagon floor. "Oh. I get it now."

"I wanna go on a hayride!" Luffy said.

"Yeah! Sounds like fun!" Chopper said.

"I'm in too!" Usopp said.

"You three." Nami huffed. "I think I'll stay here. I'm not a fan of sitting on scratchy hay."

"I think it'll be fun," Robin said.

"Me too," Kailen said.

Topaz nodded.

"Then let's go!" Neo cheered.

"Not me," Zoro said. "I'm going to take a nap."

"You're no fun," Neo said.

Zoro rolled his eyes and walked away. "See you later."

"Ignore him. We can have a lot more fun without him," Sanji said.

"Okay." Neo turned to Law. "You're coming."

"Like you were going to give me a choice," Law said.

Neo giggled. The pirates climbed inside the wagon. She settled down beside Law and Penguin and placed Cora in her lap. Instantly, Cora started grabbing the straw and chewed on it. "Cora."

Cora giggled and shook the hay in his hand. Dropping the hay he turned his hands to Penguin. "Ah…ma…ah."

"Okay. Come here." Penguin took Cora in his hands. He lifted him above his head and flew him like a plane. "Flying!"

Cora squealed in delight.

The wagon started rolling.

"I wonder where this ride goes," Usopp said.

"I wonder how long it's going to be," Chopper added.

"It's relaxing," Neo said. Sinking down into the sweet smelling hay she snuggled up to Law's arm.

"For now," Robin said. "But some hayrides can involve some scary moments."

"Scary moments?" Bepo asked.

"That's right," Robin said. "This is a festival to celebrate Halloween. The dead often visit the living on this day."

"What?!" Usopp and Chopper grabbed onto each other. "The dead?! I don't want to see the dead!"

Luffy laughed. "It'll be like Thriller Bark all over again!"

"That place was terrible!" Usopp and Chopper said.

"I hope it won't be very scary," Bepo said.

"Don't be such a scaredy bear," Shachi said.

"I'm sorry." Bepo ducked his head.

"Scary, huh?" Neo looked around them. The old man had just pulled the wagon out of the town. He was heading towards a worn path with scraggly looking trees on both sides. They were nothing like the trees back in the town. Those were lush and full of green leaves. It almost looked as if an elemental has made these trees different from the rest. But they hadn't sensed any on the island.

"Maybe there's a scientist on the island who grew the trees this way," Topaz said.

"Maybe. I don't sense the trees are suffering," Neo said.

"Anyone notice that it's getting darker?" Usopp asked.

"Hm? He's right," Shachi said looking up into the sky. A fog bank rolled in.

"Is this normal?" Neo asked leaning more into Law.

"Most likely it is," Law said.

"This is fun!" Luffy laughed.

"Nothing scares him, does it?" Shachi asked.

"Nope," Chopper, Sanji, and Usopp said.

"Is that a graveyard?" Neo asked. The pirates stopped talking and looked. The wagon rolled up to the graveyard and stopped. The headstones peaked out of the fog.

"Why did we stop here?" Bepo asked before screaming. "He's gone!"

"Huh?" The pirates turned to find their driver had indeed disappeared.

"But he was just here," Chopper said.

"That's so cool." Luffy swiped his hand over the drive seat. "He really is gone."

"But how did he move so fast?" Penguin said.

"Maybe he used that technique that CP-9 used," Luffy said.

"Possibly," Sanji said looking around. "But I don't see his spirit anywhere."

A branch snapped.

Cora fussed and reached for Neo.

"What's wrong, baby?" Neo pulled their some to her chest. He clung to her. "Cora's not happy."

Law hummed. With his eyebrows pulled tight he scanned the area. His hand tightened on his sword.

"Hm? What's that in the graveyard?" Luffy asked.

"What's what?" Usopp took a closer look.

A light appeared in the middle of the graveyard.

"Is that a light?" Bepo asked.

The light floated closer to them before veering off to its left. It circled around a couple times before splitting off into several pieces. The lights scattered out to the graves and beamed down on them.

"Maybe the dead is about to say hello," Robin said.

"Don't say things like that!" Usopp said.

"There's something moving over there," Sanji said.

They all watched. The seconds ticked by. Then suddenly a hand reached up from one of the graves.

Chopper, Usopp, and Bepo screamed. "It's alive!"

"It's part of the fun," Sanji said. "You two take things too seriously."

"It's happened before!" Chopper and Usopp said.

"If you're that scared then just attack it," Sanji said.

"Are you kidding?! It's dangerous to attack a zombie!" Usopp said.

"We've done it before," Sanji said.

"Then you attack it!" Usopp said. "Better yet let's just get the horses to take us out of here!"

A pop and smoke appeared. The smoke cleared and revealed Blade.

"There he is again," Neo said.

"I see you all are enjoying yourselves," Blade said.

"You could say that," Penguin said. "So how many people do you have working for you? And how long did it take you to set all of this up?"

"I shall not answer that," Blade said his eyes resting on Luffy. "But I have to admit that I'm surprised you all having tried to attack any of my people."

"Why would we? This is all for fun," Luffy said.

"Then I am glad you are enjoying yourselves," Blade said.

"Why do you keep popping up like this?" Neo asked.

"What do you mean?" Blade looked at her.

"I believe my question was clear," Neo said.

"Apologies." Blade bowed. "I only wish to make sure my guests are having fun."

Neo chewed on her lip.

"We're fine," Law said.

"I'm glad to hear it," Blade said. "Then I shall let you get back to your fun." He disappeared in a puff of smoke and the old man reappeared in his place.

"Oh my," the old man said.

"Where did you come from? And where did you disappear to?" Shachi asked.

"Sorry. I can't answer that," the old man said. "It would ruin the fun. Beside magicians never reveal their secrets." Turning back to the horses, he snapped the reins and they rolled off. "Let's be off now."

"Magicians?" Sanji asked. "Last I checked this had nothing to do with magic. I'm beginning to think Neo's right. Something's not right here."

"Perhaps we should leave," Neo said.

"What? We just got here," Luffy said. "It'll be fine."

"I don't know, Luffy," Neo said.

"If Neo is feeling this bad then we should do as she wants," Law said. "You know how she is."

"Okay," Luffy said. "We'll gather the crews and leave."

"Thank you, Luffy," Neo said. "And I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Luffy smiled. "You got a taste of Halloween anyway."

Neo nodded. "I did. Maybe we can do this again but somewhere else and when I don't feel like this."

…

Neo settled into Law's embrace as the old man continued to take them through the rest of the hayride which involved rattling chains, another man with an ax, zombies following them, and a skeleton seemingly coming to life to which Luffy thought was Brook. She couldn't enjoy it. She just wanted to get her family and friends and get off the island.

"Ouch." Luffy smacked his neck.

"What's wrong?" Usopp asked.

"Nothing. I think a mosquito just bit me," Luffy said.

"Let me see." Chopper stepped over to his captain. "There is a red spot there but no swelling. That's weird."

"Maybe it was something else," Shachi said.

"It doesn't itch," Luffy said.

"Let me know if any other symptoms pop up," Chopper said.

"I can heal it with my solar crystal," Neo said.

"I don't need that," Luffy said. "It was just a bug bite. I got them all the time back in the jungle Gramps threw me in."

"You're worrying too much," Usopp said.

"I know. I'm sorry," Neo said.

"Looks like we're about back at the town," Bepo said.

"I'm glad," Neo said. Her eyes fell to Cora. He was still curled in Penguin's arms and was now fast asleep. Reaching over she pressed her fingers to Cora's skin to make sure he wasn't cold. His skin was warm. She was glad they went with the pumpkin outfit. It would keep him nice and toasty as the sun went down.

"Here we are," the old man said as he pulled the horses to a stop. "Thank you for riding. Have a good day."

The pirates crawled off the wagon.

Neo's eyes landed on a group of people carving pumpkins. Among then was Zoro. "That's Zoro."

"What in the world is he doing carving pumpkins?" Sanji asked. "That guy doesn't know how to have fun."

"Meh. Who cares?" Luffy said.

Everyone turned their eyes to him.

"What was that?" Usopp asked.

"I said who cares." Luffy dug is finger in his ear. "It's no big deal."

Everyone exchanged looks.

"You're not going to run over there and join him?" Usopp asked.

"Why would I? It's pointless to carve a face in a pumpkin. It's only going to rot," Luffy said.

"Well, this is strange," Robin said.

"You feeling okay, Straw Hat?" Bepo asked.

"Of course I am." Luffy frowned. "Why wouldn't I be? Geez you're so annoying."

"Luffy," Neo said.

"What? It was the truth," Luffy said as he walked off. "I'm out of here. You people are lame."

"That was not normal," Usopp said.

"What do you think happened?" Chopper asked. "Luffy's never spoke like that."

"It appears Neo's instincts were right again," Robin said.

"What now?" Neo asked.

"We do as we planned," Law said. "We gather the crews and leave this place."

Neo nodded.

"We'll go after Luffy," Usopp said.

Chopper nodded and the two ran off in the direction their captain went off in.

…

"This dress is so cute," Nami said holding a red dress up to herself.

"It'll look good on you," Ikkaku said. "You should buy it."

"It's on sale. You bet I'm going to buy it." Nami took the dress up to the checkout. After paying for the dress the two women left the store. "Aren't you going to buy anything?"

"No." Ikkaku shook her head. "I've never been one for dresses. Besides I wouldn't wear one while traveling with a bunch of perverts even if I was paid to do it."

Nami laughed. "I can understand that. I travel with three perverts. But I can handle them easily."

"I know you can. I'm getting hungry. Let's get something to eat." Ikkaku laughed then noticed Luffy walked past them. "Hey, there's Straw Hat."

"Hey, Luffy!" Nami called out. The two ran over to him. "You're back. Just in time. We're going to get something to eat. You want to come with us?"

"Huh? No, I'm not hungry," Luffy said.

"You're joking right?" Nami asked.

"I'm not." Luffy frowned. "So what were you doing here?"  
"Just a little shopping," Nami said. "I found this cute dress and-"

Luffy scoffed. "You're so pathetic."

"Excuse me?" Nami said.

"You make such a big deal about money then you spend whatever you want when you want something." Luffy turned and walked away.

"Luffy." Nami watched him go.

"That was not normal," Ikkaku said. "Since when does Straw Hat turn down food?"

"He doesn't. Something's not right," Nami said.

"Hey! Nami!" Usopp shouted.

The women turned to see the sniper and Chopper running up to them.

"Have you seen Luffy?" Chopper asked.

"He was just here. And he was acting really weird," Nami said.

"He turned down food," Ikkaku said.

"Now we know something's wrong," Usopp said.

"What do you mean?" Nami asked.

"Luffy just suddenly started acting weird since we got back from our hayride," Chopper said.

"We were going to leave because Neo's really uncomfortable with this place," Usopp said. "He called Bepo annoying, refused to join Zoro in the fun of carving pumpkins, he called us lame, and then walked off."

"Why would he do that? It's not like him at all," Nami said.

"We know." Chopper nodded. "We have no idea why he's acting like this."

"We're trying to track him down and get him back to ship," Usopp said.

"Well, he went that way." Ikkaku pointed to their right.

"Thanks!" Usopp said as he and Chopper ran off.

"What do we do when we finally catch him?" Chopper asked.

"What do you mean?" Usopp glanced down at Chopper.

"Well, Luffy's not acting like himself. We don't know what he's going to do," Chopper said. "If he fights us…"

Usopp hummed before chuckling. "Come on. This is Luffy we're talking about. He's not going to attack us."

"I hope you're right," Chopper said. "I still don't like this. We should have listen to Neo in the first place and not have come here."

"Well, we're leaving. All we need is to get Luffy back," Usopp said. "There he is."

Luffy was sitting under a tree with his hands behind his head when the two caught up with him. He opened one eye and looked at him. "What do you want?"  
"Luffy, we're leaving," Usopp said. "Why did you run off like that?"

"I felt like it. I am a pirate after all." Luffy closed his eyes.

"Come on, Luffy," Chopper said. "Everyone's waiting for us. We should go."

"I'm not going anywhere," Luffy said.

"What are you talking about? You told Neo we would leave since she's not comfortable being here," Usopp said.

"I don't care what she says. She's over reacting," Luffy said. "She wouldn't do that if Tra didn't treat her like a baby. But I guess he does that because she is one."

"Luffy! Don't talk about Neo like that! How could you say that?! You love her! She's Shanks' goddaughter!" Chopper screamed.

"Calm down, Chopper." Usopp held out his hand to keep Chopper from charging at their friend. "Remember he's not himself right now."

"I'm fine. It's you people that have the problem," Luffy said. "You two are so lame. You're weak and nothing but cowards."

Usopp growled. "Listen, Luffy, I know you're not yourself right now so I'm going to let that one slide."

"Of course you are." Luffy grinned. But it wasn't his normal carefree and friendly grin. It was dark and dangerous. "You have no choice but to. Remember our fight on Water 7? I would pound you into the ground again."

Usopp gritted his teeth. He drew in a breath to calm himself down. "Luffy, let's go. We're leaving this island."

"I'm not going anywhere," Luffy said. "If you want to leave then you're free to go."

"You are being impossible!" Usopp snapped. He lunged forward, hands ready to strangle Luffy.

"Usopp!" Chopper transformed into his human form and held the sniper back. "Stop it! Remember he's not himself!"

"I don't care! He's not going to get away with talking to us like that!" Usopp swung his fists and kicked his feet at Luffy.

Luffy threw his head back and laughed. "Pathetic! You were always good for a laugh!"

"What was that?!" Usopp struggled harder against Chopper. "Let me go! I'm going to show him whose boss!"

"Usopp! Stop that!" Chopper said.

"No! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" Usopp shouted.

"As much fun as this is, I'm leaving now." Luffy threw his hands up to a tree limb and pulled himself up to it with a snap of his rubber body.

"Luffy! Come back here!" Usopp called.

"Not going to happen! I like it here! So I'm staying! Gum Gum Rocket!" Luffy shot himself away from them.

"Well, that's just great," Chopper said as Luffy sailed over a house and got farther and farther away. "We'll never find him now."

"Then he's lucky! If we do I'm going to rip his head off!" Usopp snarled.

"Please calm down," Chopper said. "You know Luffy didn't mean any of that."

"I know, I know." Usopp stopped flailing. He drew in a few breaths before calming down. "I just don't get why he's acting this way."

"Neither do I," Chopper said. "He was fine then all of a sudden he wasn't."

"So what do we do now?" Usopp asked.

"We have no choice but to head back and tell the others what happened," Chopper said. "Neo and the elementals can track him down."

"Yeah." Usopp nodded. "Let's go then."

The two turned and headed back to the crews.

…

"So Luffy's acting weird," Zoro said after being filled in on what happened.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "It just happened. He was fine with leaving them suddenly he's acting like…well, like Kid."

Zoro hummed and crossed his arms.

"By the way, why were you carving pumpkins?" Sanji asked.

Zoro twitched. "None of your business."

"Zoro! Zoro!" a little girl called out. "Come see what I did!"

"Oh, I see." Sanji snickered. "You were talking into it by a cute little girl."

"I was not!" Zoro's cheeks flushed. "Shut up, you stupid cook!"

"Zoro!" the girl called out.

"You better go see her," Sanji said. "You don't want to keep a lady waiting."

"Zoro?" Neo asked.

"Fine. She asked me to help her." Zoro turned and stalked over to the little girl.

"He really is a sweetheart," Neo said with a smile. "It's so cute."

"Don't let him hear you say that," Penguin said.

"There you are," Nami said.

"Usopp and Chopper told us what happened with Straw Hat," Ikkaku said. "We just ran into him a few minutes ago. He really is acting weird."

Neo nodded.

"What do you think happened to him?" Ikkaku asked.

"We don't have a clue," Shachi said. "Maybe that bug bite did something."

Law hummed.

"You don't think that's true, do you, Law?" Neo asked.

"I don't know. He did start acting strangely after he got bit by that bug," Law said. "Most likely it was just a coincidence."

"Straw Hat was the only one to get bit," Penguin said.

"Hey!" Usopp called out.

The pirates turned as Usopp and Chopper ran up to them.

"Where's Luffy?" Neo asked.

"He took off on us after some very rude words," Usopp said. "He said he's staying here but we can leave if we want."

"That's insane! We're not leaving him behind!" Neo said.

"Of course we're not," Law said. "We'll just have to drag him back to the harbor."

"So what's the plan?" Kailen asked. "What are we going to do about him?"  
"We could use sea prism stone on him," Topaz said. She shrugged when everyone looked at her. "Just a suggestion. Since he's acting this weird we have no idea what he might do."

"We can't do that," Neo said.

"We don't have any with us anyway," Penguin said.

Someone screamed. The pirates looked around to see several zombies were moaning and groaning as they entered into the town. Some people ran from the zombies while others enjoyed them. One zombie even grabbed a lady and started dancing around.

Neo exhaled. "I'm getting too tense from all of this."

"And the fun goes on," Sanji said. "Let's go find Luffy."

The pirates turned and walked away from the scene.

"So which way did he go?" Zoro asked.

"That way." Chopper pointed northeast. "I'm not sure if he's still there though."

"I can sense him," Topaz said. "He's still in that direction."

"Feels like he's just outside of the town," Kailen said. "For someone who didn't want to leave he sure didn't go very far."

"Do you think we should get the rest of the crews?" Neo asked. "We're still missing some."

"We'll head back and get them," Usopp said.

Chopper nodded.

"Hold up," Topaz said. "I'll come with you. That way I can lead you back to the rest if they have to go somewhere else."

Neo watched them go before turning back to the task as hand. She swallowed. Her fingers twiddled nervously as thoughts of having to fight Luffy filtered into her brain.

Law slid his fingers between hers. "Try not to worry, love. We'll figure out what's wrong with Straw Hat."

"I just don't want to have to fight him," Neo said.

"We might not have a choice," Law said.

"I know," Neo said.

"You might be able to subdue him with your crystals," Law said.

"I hope so," Neo said.

"Don't worry," Sanji said. "We'll knock him out if we have to. It's not like we haven't hit him plenty of times before."

"Well, that's true," Neo said.

Cora woke up. Looking around at the unfamiliar territory, he cried.

"Upset and wet," Penguin said.

"Sorry. Let me change him. You all go on ahead." Neo summoned an earth crystal. She grew a large flower then took Cora from her brother and placed him on the flower.

"We can wait," Nami said. "Until we know what's going on we shouldn't split up too much."

"There, there," Neo said while changing Cora's diaper. "It's okay. There nice and dry now." She picked him up. Cora settled down in her arms. "Let's go find Uncle Luffy now."

The group started walking again. Clouds rolled in overhead. Shadows fell down upon their surroundings. It turned everything darker than it should have.

"Is it my imagination or have some of the leaves on the trees disappear?" Robin asked.

"I think she's right." Sanji looked up at the almost bare branches. "These trees look like they belong on a winter island." He looked at the elementals. "Do you all sense something going on with the island flora?"

"No." Kailen shook his head. "Nothing seems to have changed."

"What in the world is going on here?" Sanji asked.

A cool wind blew across their skin. Neo checked Cora's outfit to make sure he was covered. "We're getting closer to Luffy."

"Hm?" Law looked to his right.

"What is it, Law?" Neo asked.

"Someone's following us," Law said.

"An animal?" Nami asked.

"No," Topaz said. "If it was we'd sense it. So whoever it is it's human."

"Possible some workers?" Robin suggested.

"Why would they be way out here?" Zoro asked.

"They might be checking for people going into places they don't want them to go," Robin said.

"She's got a point," Shachi said. "Theme parks have people looking out for things like that."

"If that was the case then why don't they come talk to us?" Bepo asked.

Shachi opened his mouth but closed it. He didn't have an answer.

…

 **Author's Notes: I think I proofread this one. If I didn't let me know and I'll proofread it and repost it.**


	3. Nightmare Luffy Returns?

Nightmare Luffy Returns?

"Are we about there?" Nami asked.

"Luffy's just around this bend here," Kailen said.

The group continued on around the worn path. Heavy yet painful breathing greeted them with in seconds. As they rounded a tree they spotted Luffy curled up in a ball under a tree.

"Luffy!" Neo moved to rush to him.

"Hold it." Law held out his arm.

"Law! What are you doing?!" Neo demanded.

"Look at his skin," Law said.

Neo turned back to her friend. She gasped. Luffy's usually tanned skin was a dull greyish blue. "What…but how?"

"It's official," Shachi said. "Someone did something to him. That bug."

"No bug can do this," Penguin said. "It had to be someone."

"Well, Dr. Hogback created zombies and other creatures on Thriller Bark." Nami pulled out her baton. "Maybe this is something like that?"

Luffy turned towards them. His voice groaned out, "Help…me."

"Luffy," Neo said. Summoning her solar crystal she washed it healing glow over his body. The pain in his face remained. "Law, we have to do something."

"We need to get him back to the sub," Law said. He looked to Shachi and Penguin. "Carry him."

"Aye, Captain." Shachi and Penguin nodded. They stepped forward. Just before their hands land on his shoulders, Luffy threw punches at them. They stumbled backwards.

The pirates went into defense mode.

"Stay…away." Luffy huffed.

"Luffy, it's okay. We're here to help you," Neo said.

Luffy's eyes turned to her.

"It's us, Luffy. We're your friends. Remember?" Neo tried to step forward only to get Law's arm against her chest again.

Luffy shook his head. He winced in pain. "No." He grabbed his head. "It hurts."

"I know it does. Let us help you," Neo said. "Come back with us."

"No!" Luffy screamed. His eyes opened revealing them to now be red.

"What's going on?!" Nami screamed.

"He's changing," Robin said.

"Why do you have to be so calm about it?!" Shachi and Penguin screamed.

"Is he turning into Nightmare Luffy again?" Nami asked.

"No," Sanji said. "That was done because of shadows. This is something else."

"Gum Gum!" Luffy shouted.

"Look out!" Zoro shouted.

"Gatlin!" Luffy threw multiple punches at his friends.

The pirates leaped away from the on coming attack, some blocking Luffy's attack before moving out of the way while others immediately jumped.

"Take him down!" Law ordered.

"Luffy!" Neo summoned her earth crystals. Vines lifted up from the ground and snapped at him.

Luffy jumped, easily dodging and slipping through the vines.

"He's fast!" Kailen summoned his own earth crystals. He joined them with Neo's and tired to help grab him.

"We need to corral him." Topaz summoned her fire crystals. She moved them close to Luffy and flared them up.

Luffy jumped back from the flames. A hiss came from his lips.

"Did he just hiss?" Nami asked.

"That's definitely not normal," Sanji said. "But keep it up, Topaz! It's working!"

"I'm doing my best," Topaz said. "But I don't know how long I can keep him in place."

"Just hold him a little bit longer," Neo said. She summoned a wind crystal. She moved it close to Luffy's head and pulled the air from his lungs.

Luffy gasped for air. His fingers scratched at his throat as if it would help him get air back into his body.

Neo's pulse hammered under her skin. She pleaded and prayed for Luffy to pass out soon. Finally his body went limp. She exhaled and banished her wind crystal. Wrapping her vines around him she lowered him to the ground while keeping him secure in her hold. "We got him."

"Neo, fly us back to the sub. The rest of you head back to the town and tell everyone what happened," Law said.

With confirming nods the group split up. Neo wrapped her winds around herself, Cora, and Law and lifted them into the air. She turned and flew them towards the harbor. Her eyes dropped to the town when they flew over. The celebration was still going on. No one was aware of what happened. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing.

"He'll be okay," Law said.

"Yeah." Neo lowered them to the sub deck. They entered and went right to the infirmary.

Law pulled out some chains from the closet.

Neo flinched. They were the same ones Law had used on her when she woke up on the sub for the first time.

"Sorry," Law said while chaining Luffy down.

"It's okay. Just an automatic reaction." Neo rocked Cora in her arms.

Law nodded. Once Luffy was secure he rushed around the room, gathering up all he needed to test the changing captain.

Neo stood back but remained close enough to subdue Luffy if she needed to. A few minutes passed. Law had drawn some of Luffy's blood before sitting down at the counter to look at it. She paced the room, wanting to ask what was going on but held her tongue.

A few minutes later Penguin wandered into the room. "Everyone's gathered outside. How's it going?"

"Law's still working on it," Neo said.

"How are you doing?" Penguin asked.

"I'll be fine," Neo said. "Law's working on it. He's the best after all."

Penguin nodded. "Would you like some tea?"  
"No, I'm fine," Neo said.

Penguin nodded again.

Cora fussed and pulled on Neo's shirt.

"You must be hungry. It's been a while since you've ate anything," Neo said.

"Let me take him. I'm sure you want to stay with Straw Hat," Penguin said.

Neo nodded. After placing a kiss on Cora's forehead she passed him over to Penguin.

"Say see you later Mommy," Penguin said.

Neo waved to them as they disappeared from the room. With a sigh she walked over to Law. "Did you find anything, Law?"

"Yes, but I have no idea what it is," Law said. "There's some form of abnormality floating around in his blood."

"Abnormality?" Neo asked.

"Whatever it is I'm positive it's causing this change in Straw Hat." Law leaned back in his chair. "I can see it transforming his blood cells."

"Can you get it out of him?" Neo asked.

"I can pull it out with my devil fruit," Law said. "But there's no guarantee it will work since it's bonding with his blood cells."

"What if this hurts him? What if it kills him? It's a huge risk. But what choice do we have?" Neo sighed.

Law stood up and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry, Neo."

"It's not your fault." Neo leaned into him.

"There is another option."

Neo looked up at him. Her eyes widened. "Blade."

Law nodded. "But there's no guarantee that he'll tell us if he did do this to Straw Hat. In either case we have to tell the Straw Hats about this. It's their choice on what we do since it's their captain that's going through this."

Neo nodded. Slipping her hand into Law's they left the room and headed for the deck where the Straw Hats and some of their crewmembers currently were.

"So what did you discover?" Usopp asked when they stepped outside.

"Nothing good. There's some kind of abnormality floating around in Straw Hat's blood," Law said. "It's bonding with his blood cells and changing them. I can pull it out with my devil fruit but there's no tell what could happen to him until after it's done."

"You mean it could kill him?" Zoro asked.

"Possibly." Law nodded.

"You can't do that!" Nami's eyes widened with fear.

"We don't want that either," Neo said. "So we thought about talking to Blade."

"Blade?" Chopper asked.

"You all know I don't like him," Neo said.

"Well, he is the only one who's been acting very strangely on this island," Usopp said. "So he might be the one with the answers we need."

"I say we go find him then." Zoro pushed one of his swords from its sheath before letting it fall back into place. "If he doesn't talk then we'll make him talk."

"I'll agree for once with the mosshead," Sanji said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Usopp asked.

"We need to go now," Franky said.

"You all stay here and try to keep Straw Hat under control." Law gestured to some of his subordinates.

"Aye, Captain." They nodded and headed inside.

A boom came from inside. The sub rocked violently before settling back into place.

"What was that?" Brook asked.

"I bet it was nothing good," Sanji said.

"Luffy," Neo said.

…

The Heart Pirates ran into the infirmary room where Luffy was being held. Just as they entered into the room the chains holding Luffy snapped. He leaped up and charged at them with his Gum Gum Gatlin. The pirates flew backwards, slamming against the wall before collapsing to the floor. Luffy ran past them and out the door.

…

Penguin came running out onto the deck with Cora securely in his arms. "Neo!"

"Cora! Penguin!" Neo said.

"We're okay." Penguin handed Cora over to her.

Luffy screamed. Everyone turned to see him running out onto the deck. They all gasped. His skin had changed from tan to a moss green. His fingernails had grown longer and sharper.

"What the heck?!" Brook shrieked.

"What's wrong with him?!" Usopp asked.

Luffy screamed again. He collapsed to the floor.

"Luffy," Chopper said.

Hunkered over bumps appeared on his back.

"What's happening to his back?" Robin asked.

Suddenly, Luffy released a painful cry. His shirt ripped open and gargoyle like wings sprouted out from his back.

"What is he changing into?!" Topaz asked.

"Looks like a gargoyle," Robin said.

"Why would anyone want to turn someone into a gargoyle?" Bepo asked.

Luffy lifted up. His eyes had changed as well. They were solid red with a black slit in the center.

"Luffy," Neo said. Cora cried and tucked his face into her shoulder.

Luffy charged at her.

Neo shot into the air with her wings.

"Stop him!" Law shouted.

Everyone pulled out their weapons. They charged forward, striking at their changing friend.

Sanji kicked at Luffy's head.

Luffy leaned backwards to avoid the kick. He then leaped up into the air. He shot his hands into the air and grabbed Neo's ankles.

"Oh no." Neo gasped.

"Room! Shambles!" Law said.

Neo disappeared from the air then reappeared on the deck of the sub.

"Thanks. Kailen!" Neo and Kailen summoned their earth crystals. They snapped out vines in an attempt to grab their friend.

Luffy spun in the air. He landed on a vine and used them to dodge the others.

"Is it just my imagination or is Luffy able to dodge our attacks like it's a normal every day training session?" Usopp asked. He aimed and fired a shot at Luffy, which missed.

"You're right," Law said. "He knows our moves still even though he's changing."

"Then it's going to be super hard to catch him again," Franky said.

Neo summoned a wind crystal. She tried to get it next to Luffy's head but he continued to dodge her attempts. "Dang it. He's too fast this time. He must remember the first time."

"So what do we do?" Nami asked. "I don't have anything that will stop him."

Chopper transformed into his Jumping Point. He took off into the vines. He jumped towards Luffy but Luffy saw him coming and leaped out of the way. Luffy then launched himself into the air. Looking down at them he grinned.

"He's up to something!" Zoro said.

"Oh crap! He's going to try and use his haki on us!" Sanji said.

"No!" Neo shouted. Summoning fifty of her wind crystals she created a strong gale and blew Luffy away from the sub. Luffy went flying towards the island. He disappeared when he fell into some trees. Heart throbbing she dropped to her knees, holding Cora to her chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Robin knelt down to Neo. She placed her hand on Neo's shoulder. "You did what you had to do. We'll find him again. He didn't fly all that far. And he can't get off the island without the ship."

"She's right," Law said. "Straw Hat's not himself. You did what you had to do to protect us. Next time we'll be better prepared for him."

Chopper landed on the deck and shrunk down to his normal size. "That was not fun. I don't like it when we have to fight each other."

Sanji puffed on his cigarette. "And it's only going to get worse from this point on. For all we know Luffy won't recognize us anymore. He might view us as enemies instead of friends."

"How are we going to take Luffy down then? We have no sea prism stone. And Tra's sedative didn't work on Luffy at all," Nami said.

"And don't forget he knows all of our moves," Kailen said.

"First we go talk to Blade," Neo said. "I'm sure he knows something about this."

"If we can find him," Shachi said. "He likes to appear and disappear."

"The others!" Neo jumped to her feet. Without waiting for everyone else she flew into the sub with her wings. Reaching the infirmary she was greeted with moans from her family that had been knocked out by Luffy.

Seconds later the others followed her inside. Chopper and Law instantly got to check on their friends.

"How are they?" Neo asked.

"They'll be fine. Doesn't appear anyone's got a concussion," Law said while checking on the last crewmate that had been hit by Luffy when he escaped.

"I haven't found any serious injuries either," Chopper said. "Looks like Luffy was holding back. If he wasn't…well…"

"I'm glad." Neo sighed. She was glad Luffy didn't stay and fight them more.

"Then Luffy's still Luffy," Usopp said.

"For the moment," Zoro said. "We have no idea what's going on inside of his head."

"We should get going then," Sanji said. "He might attack the people on this island."

"You all stay here and rest," Law said. "We'll take some transponder snails with us. If anyone spots Luffy then call us."

"I'll go get them," Bepo said before running out of the room.

"We'll need our transponder snails too," Sanji said heading out of the room. "I'll get them and meet you all outside."

"Neo." Law stood up.

"We're taking Cora with us," Neo said. "We'll be able to protect him better that way."

"Kailen and I could stay behind with him on the sub," Topaz said.

"I thought of that," Neo said. "But we'll need your crystals to help us subdue Luffy."

"Understood." Topaz nodded.

"If things get too heated I can stay in the air with Cora," Neo said. "I'll use my winds to keep Luffy from grabbing me again."

Law sighed. "All right. Then let's get back to the island."

Neo nodded. The pirates left the sub.

Sanji and Bepo passed out their transponder snails before they headed back into the town.

"We should go ahead and split up," Brook said. "We'll find Blade faster that way."

"What about Luffy?" Neo asked. "Shouldn't we go after him too?"

"It won't do much good if we don't know how to cure Luffy," Robin said.

A loud snap pulled the pirates attention. One of the taller trees fell over. Birds scattered into the air.

"Well, I guess we know where Luffy is," Usopp said.

"I wonder if he's losing control of himself," Robin said.

"He might be attacking trees to keep himself from coming after us," Sanji said.

"At least we know where he is," Neo said. "Let's find Blade."

The pirates nodded and ran off in different directions. They stopped and asked several people if they knew where Blade was. No one did. The pirates went into buildings and stood on rooftops to look for the man.

"Where is he?" Neo asked. Her frustration built inside of her, causing Cora to fuss. "This is stupid. When we didn't want him around he was everywhere. Now that we want him to appear there's nothing. I'm sorry, Cora. I know my frustration is upsetting you."

Law glanced at Neo. He wished he had comforting words to give her but right now nothing seemed like it wasn't going to get any better. He was at a loss on what to do.

"Hey there's that old man from the hayride," Neo said. He was stroking one of his horses while they ate from a couple of buckets. "Maybe he knows where Blade is."

"Won't hurt to ask." Law led the way over to him. "Hey, old man."

"Eh?" The old man turned to them.

"We're looking for Blade," Law said. "Have you seen him?"  
"Not since earlier," he said.

"Do you know where we can possibly find him?" Neo asked.

"I'm afraid not," he said. "He's all over the place. It's always hard to guess where he might be."

"That's just great," Law said.

"Is there a problem?" the old man asked.

Neo opened her mouth to reply but Law cut her off.

"Nothing much. We're just curious about something and wanted to talk to him about it," Law said. Slipping his arm around Neo's waist he led her away from the old man. "Thanks for your time."

"Law," Neo protested when they were far enough away from the old man. "Why didn't you tell him what happened?"

"We don't need to panic the people here," Law said.

"Wouldn't it be best if they knew about Luffy?" Neo asked.

"Not necessarily," Law said. "If they panic it might set Straw Hat off. He might attack them in this strange new form."

"Like a predator," Neo said.

"Possibly. He's already aggressive towards his friends," Law said.

"Then there's no telling what he'll do if he sees someone as an enemy," Neo said. "Just great." She looked towards the forest where the tree had gone down. A few more had clearly fallen since the first one. "What do we do if he comes back into the town?"

"I don't know. I can always warp him out-" Law groaned. "I should have warped him into the sea when we were at the sub."

"Oh," Neo said. "That would have helped. I guess we all were taken off guard by what happened. We should probably get our stuff from the hotel. Or should we not? We already paid for the room."

"I thought you didn't want to stay here." Law smirked.

"I don't! But we did pay for it. And we don't know how long this is going to take," Neo said.

"We'll go back anyway. Maybe Blade will be there," Law said.

Neo nodded.

"Ah…ba…" Cora reached for Law.

"Want Daddy to hold you for a while?" Neo passed their son over to Law.

Law held Cora against his side as they continued walking.

A few minutes passed. Neo looked around. "Wasn't the hotel around here?"

"It was," Law said.

"Then were is it?" Neo asked.

"Maybe its around this corner," Law said.

They turned the corner but didn't see the hotel.

"This was…" Neo stared at the place she knew the hotel was. But in its place was an old oak tree. "That wasn't there before. Where's the hotel?" She looked around. A couple elderly women passed by them. "Excuse me. Where did the hotel go?"  
"Hm?" The women stopped and looked at them then at the oak tree then back to the pirates. "There's never been a hotel here."

"What?" Neo asked. "But there was. We rented rooms here."

"Sorry, dearie, but we've lived here our whole lives," one lady said. "I assure you there's never been a hotel on this street before." The women walked on.

"But that's…" Neo watched them go. "That doesn't make any sense. How can an entire building just disappear like that? I know we went into the building. I was talking about the cobwebs and spider webs and how I didn't want Cora to get bit then how I'd level the place if he did."

"I know, love," Law said. "I was there after all."

"Then what's happening?!" Neo faced him.

"I don't have a clue," Law said.

"Should we contact the others about his?" Neo asked.

Law hummed. "I'm not sure. It won't really do anything with helping us now."

"True. At least we didn't lose anything important." Neo looked around again to make sure their clothes weren't lying around anywhere. "I don't think Nami's going to be happy about this. But I do think we should tell the others. They'll need to know if they come back here."

"All right." Law nodded.

Neo dug into his pocket and pulled out the transponder snail. One by one she called the groups to inform them of what they found out.

"What?!" Nami shrieked. "What do you mean it disappeared?! I left some clothes in there!"

"I'm sorry, Nami," Neo said. "But it's gone. And so are all of clothes we took with us."

"I'm so angry! Once I figure out what's going on here I'm going to pound who's ever responsible!" Nami said. "No! I'm going to make them pay triple the amount those clothes were worth!"

"Don't you intimidate people into give you discounts?" Law asked.

"So what?! I'll make them pay either way! And they're paying for the full price too!" Nami said.

"Have you found out anything on your end?" Neo asked.

"No," Nami replied. "We're still looking. Although…"

"What is it, Nami?" Neo asked.

"We've ran into a few people who don't know who Blade is," Nami said.

"That's odd," Neo said.

"We're going to continue looking," Nami said. "We'll let you know if we find anything else."

"All right," Neo said. The transponder snail clicked off. "This is just so weird. What now?"

"We keep looking." Law walked off.

Neo stuck the transponder snail back in his pocket. More trees fell not far from them. She glanced over at them. "Feels like Luffy's coming closer to the town. He's still knocking down trees too. The poor animals are so scared and confused. I wonder if he's going to attack them."

"The animals will be fine," Law said. "I'm sure they're moving away from Straw Hat. Probably did when they sensed there's something wrong with him."

Neo nodded.

"I know it's really odd," someone said.

Neo and Law paused. A group of people were gathered together.

"She just disappeared. I turned around for one second and she was gone."

"I'm sure she's fine. You know she has authority issues. She's run off before."

"Excuse me," Neo said. The group looked at her. "Have you seen Blade?"

"Who?"

"Blade. The man who set up all this Halloween stuff." Neo waved her hand around to point out the town.

"Sorry, lady. But there's no one here by that name. Never has been." The group moved on before they could ask anything else.

Neo sighed. "So the search continues. I'm starting to wonder if someone's playing a trick on us."

"Considering we're pirates and how the Blade guy has been acting, I wouldn't be surprised," Law said.

"Well, I'm not laughing," Neo said. "This is serious. Luffy could be in some real danger."

Law chuckled. "Nothing new with that."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "But nothing like this has happened before. I just hope we can fix it in time before it's too late."

"Ma…ma…" Cora poked Neo on the cheek.

"Sweet baby." Neo took his hand and kissed it. "You're probably worried about Uncle Luffy too."

"Straw Hat is not our son's uncle," Law said.

"He is too." Neo smirked. "You know he is."

"I hope Straw Hat stays like this then," Law said.

"You do not!" Neo poked Law in the side. "Don't even joke about that!"

"Who says I'm joking?" Law smirked at Neo before walking ahead of her.

"Law! Law, don't do that! Come back here!" Neo raced after him.


	4. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Neo sighed at her throbbing feet and legs. They screamed at her to sit down and rest for a while but she pushed on.

"Sit," Law said.

"No, I'm fine," Neo said. "We should keep going."

"No, you're not fine. You've been walking for hours in those shoes. I can feel your feet throbbing and it's annoying me." Law guided Neo to a tree with his sword. "Now sit before I order you to do it."

"But we have to keep looking," Neo said.

"The island's not going anywhere," Law said.

"Considering how a hotel just disappeared I'm not so sure about that." Neo frowned.

"Now I said for you to sit down," Law said.

"Fine." Neo sat down then pulled off her shoes and massaged her feet. She glanced up at the sky. The sun was quickly lowering in the west. "It's going to be dark soon. How's Cora doing?"

"Fighting going to sleep," Law said.

"Poor baby." Neo stroked his hair. Cora turned his eyes, his tired eyes, and looked at her. "Do you think he knows what's going on?"

"He knows something's wrong. He's just too young to know what," Law said.

"Don't worry, Cora. We'll get your Uncle Luffy back," Neo said.

Cora yawned then fussed while tugging on Law's shirt.

"I wish Blade was an elemental," Neo said.

Law cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Well, I sort of want that," Neo said. "Then I could just sense where he is and go right to him."

"That would be helpful," Law said. A loud crack sounded about fifty yards from them.

"Luffy's coming closer," Neo said. "I wonder if he's transformed anymore than he already has."

"What else could he turn into?" Law asked.

"Horns. He could grow horns, fangs, maybe a second head." Neo ticked her list off on her fingers.

"You read far too much," Law said.

"Maybe." Neo smiled with a shrug. "It's a shame I don't read much scary stuff like this. Maybe my books would have an answer for us. Or at least a suggestion on how to stop this."

"You're not allowed to read such books. You'd get too scared," Law said.

"I would not!" Neo protested.

"You would too." Law smirked.

"Ugh! Cora, your daddy's being a pain," Neo said. Cora giggled. "He agrees with me."

Law chuckled.

Neo's stomach grumbled. She summoned an earth crystal and grew them a couple apples. When Cora reached for her apple she mashed some up for him and fed him. Suddenly a pop went off and Blade appeared in front of them.

Law jumped to his feet. "You."

"Is something wrong?" Blade smiled.

"I get he feeling you already know the answer to that question," Law said.

"Something happened to Luffy. And we know you had something to do with it." Neo stood up.

"Why is that?" Blade's eyebrows rose.

"You're the only one who can pop in and out of nowhere," Neo said.

"That's not a crime." Blade tilted his head.

"Then explain why some people suddenly don't know who you are?" Neo asked.

"Oh, that is odd." Blade smiled.

Neo bristled.

"Stop trying to jerk us around." Law handed Cora over to Neo then pulled out his sword. "Straw Hat has turned into some kind of creature. It happened while we were on the hayride. And shortly after you came and left."

"Still not a crime," Blade said.

"Just tell us what's going on here," Neo said.

Blade chuckled. "I don't understand what the problem is. You all came here to have some Halloween fun. And that's what I've given you."

"So you are behind this," Neo said summoning her crystals.

"Indeed I am." Blade bowed to her as if he just preformed some grand feat.

"Turn Luffy back to normal!" Neo stepped forward.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that." Blade straightened up. "The night is not over yet. And things will continue to go on as I have planned. So enjoy the festivities."

"No!" Neo shot out a vine. It wrapped around Blade, keeping him in place. "Tell us how to help Luffy!"

Blade just chuckled.

"Answer me!" Neo snapped.

"I've already have." Blade's eyes widened.

Neo shivered. Blade's eyes became obsessed about something. "What is your goal?"

"Another thing I cannot answer at this point," Blade said. "You'll just have to wait and see. Yes you do. Wait and see."

"Room!" Law sliced his sword at Blade.

Smoke filled the area. It cleared and Blade was gone.

Law cursed.

"My feelings exactly," Neo said. "But watch your language. Cora is still here."

"Sorry." Law put up his sword.

"Do you think he has a devil fruit power?" Neo asked.

"With how he's popping in and out of places I don't doubt it," Law said.

"We need to tell the others about this," Neo said.

"We'll tell them to meet us in town." Law put his arm around her waist and guided her back into town before pulling the transponder snail out of his pocket.

Neo gasped.

"What is it?" Law asked.

"Luffy's headed for the town," Neo said. "We're going to have to fight him again."

"Just great." Law dialed in the first number and waited for Penguin to pick up.

…

Luffy screamed before throwing a punch at a tree. The bark snapped. Groaning the tree fell over and crashed into other trees.

Blade popped onto a nearby tree branch. He chuckled. "This is great. All is going according to plan. Now, my pet, head back into town. It's time to take this to the next step."

Luffy screamed. Turning towards the town he headed off like he was told to do.

"Perfect." Blade chuckled again. "I can't wait for the next step." He watched as Luffy ran through the trees. "Soon I will have all of them under my control. My dream is finally starting to come true." Holding out his hands he tilted his head back and laughed. "Yes! Soon! Oh so soon! It will finally come true!"

…

"I'm going to kill who's ever behind this!" Nami shouted as she stomped through the town. "I had some of my favorite clothes in my bag! Not to mention all the money we spend on renting rooms!"

"Nami's scary when she's like this," Chopper said.

"That she is," Robin said as she looked around.

"What is it, Robin? What are you looking for?" Chopper looked up at the dark haired woman.

"I was hoping to find a library," Robin said.

"A library?" Chopper asked.

"Yes." Robin nodded. "If we could get to one we could get some information on this island's history. But I haven't seen one since we arrived on this island."

"That's odd," Chopper said. "I wonder why they don't have one. Maybe we can just ask someone about the island's history?"  
"That's a possibility." Robin looked around again. "But so far no one has been much of any help."

They rounded a corner and walked down another street.

"If it's information you're looking for I can help you," a voice said.

"Huh?" The pirates paused and looked down a dark alleyway. An old woman stood there with a black hood pulled over her head.

"Who are you?" Nami asked.

"Someone who knows this island is not what it seems," the old woman said.

"Could you at least give us a name?" Nami said.

"Just call me Nana," she said.

"All right, Nana," Robin said. "You were saying?"

"Ah, yes." Nana nodded. "This island has a history of people disappearing."

"People disappear?" Chopper asked.

Nana nodded. "For as long as anyone can tell people have always disappeared on this island. They say it's haunted and always has been. Even pirates have been known to be afraid of this island. And those who weren't came to check it out for themselves and were never seen again."

"H-haunted?!" Chopper grabbed onto Robin's leg.

"Yes." Nana nodded. "But that's not what's happening now. Someone is taking people."

"Taking people?" Robin said.

"They are turning people into monsters," Nana said.

"Just like Luffy?!" Nami asked.

"I see," Nana said. "Then it has already begun."

"What has begun?" Robin asked.

"The Takening," Nana said.

"The Takening?" Chopper asked.

"Blade is responsible for all of this," Nana said. "If he is not stopped then-"

"There you are," Blade said.

The pirates turned around to Blade's voice. But the man wasn't standing there.

"That's weird." Chopper looked around. No one was near them. "You two heard him too, didn't you?"  
"I know I did," Nami said.

Robin nodded.

"I guess we all were hearing things," Nami said as she turned back to Nana. The woman was gone. The alley was empty but for a rotting old crate. "What? Where did she go? We only turned around for a second." She stepped into the alley but didn't find any doors. "She's gone."

"Sh-she's gone?!" Chopper shrieked. "She's been taken too! This is scary! I want to go back to the Sunny and leave this island!"

"I wonder if Blade had anything to do with her disappearance as well," Robin said.

"At least we know for sure that Blade is behind this," Nami said. "I just wish Nana could have told us everything before disappearing."

"We should get back to the others," Chopper said, tears streaming down his furry cheeks. "I don't want to disappear. I don't want to be taken."

The transponder snail started ringing.

"Yes?" Nami pulled the transponder snail from her shirt.

"Nami," Neo said.

"What's up?" Nami asked.

"We're gathering back together where Zoro was carving pumpkins," Neo said. "We have some information."

"As do we," Nami said.

"You should also know that Luffy's heading back to the town," Neo said.

"What?!" Chopper screamed.

"So be prepared to fight," Neo said.

"All right. We'll meet you all there," Nami said. She hung up and they took off.

…

Neo watched the area around them as they waited for their friends to arrive here. She shivered when a cold wind brushed against her skin. The sun had finally set. With the moon rising in the sky the island felt a lot less welcoming than it did before. Shadows fell over the island, causing her imagination to run away with her. She kept seeing things move in the corner of her eyes. But when she'd look nothing would be there but for shadows. She flicked her wings in annoyance. "Where are they?"  
"Calm down," Law said. "We've only been here for a minute."

"I know." Neo paced in front of him while rocking Cora in her arms. Their baby had finally lost his fight with sleeping.

"Hey, guys!" Usopp called out as he, Franky, and Brook ran over to them. Following them was the rest of their friends, but for those who stayed on the sub.

"You all aren't going to believe this," Usopp said. "But some buildings have disappeared. The costume shop we were in earlier is completely gone! And those we asked about it said it never existed in the first place."

"We figured as much since the hotel vanished too," Law said.

"Some more people have vanished as well," Bepo said.

"We spoke to Blade," Neo said before filling them in on what happened with their conversation with the man.

"Man that guy is a real jerk. We saw him a few minutes ago too," Nami said. "Well, we heard him anyway. When we turned around he was gone."

"We also spoke to an old woman who seems to know exactly what's going on with this place," Robin said.

"But then Blade's voice appeared and she disappeared," Nami said.

"He must have gotten rid of her since she knew what's going on," Sanji said.

"This is just great," Zoro said. "I'm getting tired of running around this island looking for people."

"If only we knew how Blade was doing this," Neo said.

"If only we could get a hold of that old woman," Sanji said. "She could tell us everything she knows and possibly how to fix this."

"We might have a better chance of tracking her down than Blade," Brook said.

"Not if he made her disappear," Kailen said.

"Luffy's almost here," Neo said.

"We're going to have to fight." Law pulled out his sword.

The crews stood ready with their weapons out. They watched. The leaves rustled with the wind. Then Luffy's silhouette appeared.

Neo gritted her teeth. Her heart hammered in her chest. She hated the idea of fighting her friend.

"This is crazy," Usopp said. "We can't fight Luffy like this."

"I don't get why he's coming back in the first place," Nami said.

"It is rather strange," Robin said.

"It doesn't matter now," Franky said. "There he is."

Luffy stepped out of the shadows. The crews gasped. What once was their smiling friend was now a completely transformed gargoyle.

"Just great," Sanji said.

Luffy charged forward.

The crews scattered.

Luffy went right for Zoro. Raising up his claws he swiped at the swordsman.

"What the heck?!" Zoro blocked Luffy's attack with his sword. "Why did he go for me?!"

Luffy pulled back and swiped at him again multiple times.

Zoro blocked his attacks as he moved back away from his captain. He looked for a move to attack but found none. "He's so fast."

"Who cares? Just subdue him!" Sanji said.

"Shut up! I'm trying!" Zoro said. "Luffy's body has been enhanced or something!"

Luffy swiped with his left hand. When Zoro blocked it he threw out a punch with his right hand. It landed on Zoro's nose. The swordsman flew back several yards.

"Ah! He just hit Zoro!" Usopp and Chopper shouted. "We don't stand a chance against him!"

"Will you two stop shouting?!" Nami asked.

Neo summoned her earth crystals. Snapping out her vines, she distracted Luffy before lifting the ground up around him.

"Did you get him?" Brook asked.

With a loud crash Luffy busted out of the ground dome.

"Guess not," Brook said before dodging a rock that flew at him. "Ah! That was close!"

Luffy turned. His eyes narrowed in on Neo.

"Neo! Up!" Law called out a second before Luffy charged at her.

Neo shot into the air with her wings and winds.

"No you don't!" Sanji jumped in the way and brought his foot down on Luffy's head. He connected.

Luffy paused but his body didn't go down.

"Oh crap," Sanji said as he hung in the air.

Luffy looked up at him. He grabbed Sanji's leg, spun him a couple times, and then threw him towards a tree.

"Sanji!" Neo shot her winds behind Sanji before he could collide with the tree. She exhaled when he landed safe in her winds.

"Thanks, Princess." Sanji dropped to his feet.

"He is fast," Franky said. "I never thought Luffy would be able to fight two of our top fighters so easily."

"Yeah." Sanji brushed his arm over his chin. "Well, he's not the captain for nothing."

Usopp fired a couple shots at Luffy, which the captain dodged easily.

Luffy lunged at Zoro. He grabbed the swordsman and sunk his teeth into Zoro's neck.

Zoro's eyes widened, he gritted his teeth. His swords fell to the ground with clanks.

"Oh no!" Usopp screamed. "He bit Zoro!"

"What?! Why did he do that?!" Chopper asked.

"Don't tell me Straw Hat's some bizarre form of vampire!" Bepo said.

"Of course he's not!" Shachi and Penguin shouted.

"I'm sorry." Bepo ducked his head.

The pirates held their breath. Luffy released Zoro and stepped back.

Zoro dropped to his knees. Slowly his skin started to turn green. His eyes turned red and wings sprouted on his back.

"Just great," Law said.

"No!" Usopp and Chopper screamed while holding on to each other. "Not Zoro too! We're going to die!"

"We're in a whole bunch of trouble," Sanji said. "It was bad enough having to fight Luffy. But no we have to deal with this crappy swordsman too!"

A cold wind blew.

"Oh crap!" Kailen said.

"What now?" Brook asked.

"Something's coming up from the ground," Kailen said.

Everyone looked at the ground. Several spots lifted up. Soon the dirt broke away and zombies pulled themselves up out of the ground.

"Zombies!" Usopp and Chopper screamed.

"They can't be," Nami said. One grabbed her. With a scream she whacked him across the temple. His head snapped off and rolled onto the ground. With a moan the zombie picked up its head and put it back on his neck. "Did…did you see that?!"

"Amazing," Robin said.

"Creepy," Brook said.

The zombies gathered around them, moaning and groaning with each step they took.

Neo wrapped her winds around them. Lifting her friends into the air she flew them back to the sub before any more damage could be done.

"That was way too close," Usopp said.

Chopper nodded.

"So what do we do now? Two of our best fighters have turned against us," Nami said. "The only way to get to them is find Blade. But we're probably going to have to go through Luffy and Zoro to get to him."

They lowered to the docks. The sub and ship were gone.

"Where's the sub?!" Neo asked.

"The Sunny's missing too!" Franky said.

"But they were here just a little while ago," Topaz said. "We all saw them. We were standing on the sub's deck."

"What about…what about our crewmembers that was on the sub?" Neo dropped to her knees. "They can't be…do you think they're…?"

"They're not dead," Law said firmly. "Don't think like that. Blade probably took them."

Thunder rumbled overhead. Dark clouds gathered around overhead. Neo glared back into the town. "Blade. You're going to pay for this."

"Now she's angry," Sanji said.

"At least that will give us an edge," Usopp said.

Thunder boomed. Lightning flashed. The wind picked up, bring a salt and fishy smell from the ocean.

The pirates stood ready. With determined looks and their weapons in hand, they stared towards the town.


	5. Ending a Nightmare

Ending a Nightmare

"This is just great!" Usopp said. "What do we do now?!"

Neo bit her lip. Holding Cora close to her chest she did her best to try and figure out a plan for this. She figured out nothing. Her eyes lifted to Law. She could tell from the expression on his face he wasn't coming up with anything either.

A twig snapped behind them. They spun around to find Luffy and Zoro charging at them.

Some of the pirates cursed and leaped out of the way.

Luffy shot out his hands. They wrapped around Sanji.

"Crap!" Sanji said. He struggled to get free of Luffy's grip as Zoro's sharp teeth came closer to his skin.

"Room! Sham-"

Zoro sunk his teeth into Sanji's hand.

"No!" Neo screamed.

Luffy released Sanji.

Sanji screamed as his body changed.

"What the heck?! How is it working faster than it did on Luffy and Zoro?!" Brook asked.

"This is bad!" Chopper said. "We can't fight all three of them!"

"Oh crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" Usopp screamed. "They now have Sanji under their control! We're so dead!"

"We are in some serious trouble," Penguin said.

The trio charged at them. A fury of attacks erupted into the air.

Neo's heart raced. She watched as everyone fought against each other. Summoning her wind crystals she pulled them apart. "Enough!"

The trio snarled and growled.

Neo shivered but she held them in her winds.

"What now?" Bepo asked.

Zoro reached for his sword. Pulling it out he sliced at Neo.

"Shambles!" Law warped Neo away from the attack In that split second her winds died and the trio ran back towards the town.

"Wonderful," Brook said. "What now?"

"We have to fight them and bring them back," Franky said.

"We could just leave them behind," Law said.

"Don't even suggest that!" Usopp and Chopper said.

Neo sighed. "Let's head back into town now."

The crews turned from the harbor and walked away from it.

"What the heck?" Franky asked when they arrived. "Where did the town go?"

"It looks like a graveyard itself," Brook said.

The town buildings had crumbled. Some were in tacked but there were a lot of missing boards and chipped paint falling off of them. All of the townspeople also had disappeared. They continued walking. Eyes watched them from the shadows, but they didn't come out and attack them. A board fell. A rat ran across the path.

Usopp and Chopper screamed.

"It was only a rat," Neo said.

"Still creepy," Chopper said. "This whole place is creepy. I want our friends and the Sunny back."

"As do I. What is it, Kailen?" Neo asked when she noticed he was focusing his eyes down a dark alley.

Kailen summoned an earth crystal. A vine came out of the ground and wrapped around something. He pulled the something to them.

"Hey!" the something said.

"Who are you?" Kailen flipped the person up right. The hood on the person fell back. It was a young woman not much older than the majority of the pirates were.

"It's Nana," Nami said. "But she's younger."

"It was a mask you saw before," Nana said.

"Where did you come from?" Robin asked.

"Who are you?" Neo demanded. "What have you done to our friends?!"

Law placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "You had better start talking."

"I'm sorry," Nana said. Kailen released her. "This all started off so innocent. Blade is my husband. We bonded over our loved for Halloween and being scientists. We just wanted to make the best Halloween theme park in the world. But, suddenly, Blade just became obsessed with it. Being a scientist he started doing experiments on people to create real zombies and pumpkin creatures, and gargoyles and goblins. I tried to stop him and warn people away. But no one would listen. So, instead, I studied up on his work in hopes to make an antidote that will reverse everything that's been done. I think I managed it. I've been unable to try it though."

"Then we'll try it," Law said. "Where is the antidote?"

"I hid it in our old lab that's at the base of the mountain." Nana she looked up to the mountain in the distance. "Since he doesn't use it anymore I figured it would be best to keep it there. So far he hasn't noticed what I've been doing there for several months."

"So where did you disappear to before?" Robin asked.

"I had to run from Blade when he appeared. As you have noticed he does have a devil fruit. It allows him to pop in and out of places rather quickly," Nana said. "He came after me instead of confront you all."

"That figures," Penguin said.

"How did you manage to get away from him?" Nami asked.

"There's trap doors all over this island since the island itself was meant to be the theme park," Nana said. "I slipped through one and got away. I've been trying to get back to you all ever since. But his minions have been all over the place."

"Where's all the monsters now?" Robin asked. "We've noticed a lack in numbers."

"Some are still around. But most likely the rest are with him," Nana said. "They'll be coming after you soon enough. Blade wants all of you to be part of his…part of all this. He took down three of your top fighters in hopes to be able to get you all easier."

"So that's why he went after them first," Shachi said.

"Makes sense now," Bepo added. "Then the captain might be next on the list."

Neo stepped closer to Law. He slipped his arm around her, pulling her to his side.

"Well, at least we know what to do now. Neo can fly us there in no time," Usopp said.

Neo nodded. "We need to get there before he takes Law."

"Right," Penguin said. "We have no idea what would happen to you if he took the captain."

"What do you mean by that?" Nana asked.

"Nothing," Law said.

"Fine. Be careful though," Nana said. "I've seen Blade playing with pollution stones before. But I have no idea where he keeps them. And I'm not sure if he read the newspaper article about you elementals or not."

"Let's hope he didn't and those stones are up somewhere where they can't reach us," Kailen said.

"Yeah." Topaz nodded.

"Let's go then," Nami said. "You coming?"  
"I might as well," Nana said. "You might have a hard time finding the antidote. The lab is pretty big. I can take you right to it."

"Then let's go," Law said.

Neo summoned her wind crystals and flew them towards the mountain. Looking down she found a few of Blade's monsters roaming around the island. It made her shiver that among them were a couple of her own friends. And if they didn't get the antidote that would be all of them. She looked down at Cora. He was asleep. She wondered, and worried, what it would do to him. Would she and Law be able to still care for him? Would he be turned into a monster too? She didn't know. Either way she wasn't going to let that happen. She forced those thoughts aside. They all were going to be fine. And they all were leaving this island together.

…

"Now where are they going?" Blade asked as he watched the group heading for the mountain. Standing on a rooftop he watched them as his monsters prowled around on the ground below him. "Oh no! It can't be! It's not possible!"

The trio looked up at him.

"Well, I guess that explains why Nana has spent so much time there in the past year," Blade said. "She must have figured out an antidote to change all this back to normal. Well, I won't let that happen. Let's go my pets."

Blade popped down to the ground. He headed towards the mountain with his monsters following him.

…

Neo set them down at the base of the mountain. The trees were void of leaves but stringy moss hung down from them. They swayed in the cool breeze. Near by was a run down lab. She snuggled against Cora. "This place is creepy."

"Can we just get in and out?" Usopp asked.

"Some of you should probably stay behind and fight," Nana said. "Hopefully you can keep them at bay until we release the antidote."

"How are you going to do that?" Penguin asked.

"There's a vent system that's been built into the mountain," Nana said. "If we can get the antidote in it we should be able to turn everyone back to normal in one shot."

"So who's going to fight who?" Bepo asked.

"We should split up into groups," Law said.

"I think Topaz and Kailen should lead a group each. Topaz can handle the fight with Sanji. She'll be able to handle his flames," Neo said looking at her sister.

"Right." Topaz nodded.

"The rest of you stick with Kailen. With him you should be able to face Zoro and Luffy," Neo said.

"What about you?" Chopper asked. Worry filled his voice and eyes.

"I'm going after Blade," Neo said. She looked at Law. "It's up to you to get the antidote with Nana."

"I'm not happy that you wanting to face him on your own but I can see how upset you are," Law said. "Be careful."

"You too."

"I'll take Cora with me," Law said.

Neo nodded. Using her earth crystals she formed a baby carrier for Law to use. After kissing Cora's forehead she placed him in it then kissed Law. Law and Nana headed inside while the rest of the pirates spread out. Blade and his monsters popped into view. Neo gulped.

"Well, isn't this nice." Blade frowned. "Where is my darling Nana? Well, it doesn't matter I guess. I'll get to her soon enough. First you all. Attack."

Everyone charged forward. That battle began.

…

Law followed Nana through the dark halls of the lab. It smells similar to the labs on Punk Hazard but with dust and dirt added in. The only light they had came from a small transponder snail she had. Creatures scurried away from the light as they ran down the hall. The footsteps echoed off the empty walls. They had ran for several minutes already. "How far?"  
"We're almost there." Nana turned down another hall. They ran down it then made a left. Finally, after three more halls, she led him into a room. She flipped on a light. It washed over the room.

Law noticed the room was well kept. Obviously Nana has spent a lot of time in here. Books, notes, and glass tubes were scattered all over the counter tops.

Nana ran over to the desk.

Law followed her. Sitting on it was a glass jar with a dull green powder inside. "Is that it?"

"Yes." Nana nodded while opening the jar. "Hopefully it'll work."

"And if it doesn't?" Law asked.

"Then we're all going to be his monsters," Nana said.

Law's eyes fell to Cora. He wasn't going to let that happen. They would fight until they either defeated Blade or found a cure that did work.

"There." A humming filled the room.

Law looked up. The jar was now attached to some form of vacuum. The powder lifted into the tube and disappeared through the ceiling.

…

Neo watched Blade carefully as her friends charged into battle. He stood back from everyone, watching with a grin on his face. It made her blood boil. Pulling her eyes from him she watched how the crews were doing against the trio.

Topaz was guiding Sanji's fire away from them.

Kailen was doing his best to try and trap Luffy and Zoro inside vines or a prison made of earth. But as strong as they were the two kept breaking out. When they did the others would attack.

Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo charged at Sanji. They threw several punches and kicks at him. Sanji dodged easily with his observation haki.

Neo turned her eyes back to Blade. If she took him out she could help everyone else fight. Wrapping her winds around her she charged at Blade. Summoning a fire crystal she shot a fire tornado at him. Blade disappeared then reappeared to her side. She fired at him again. But again and again he popped out of her reach. Neo gritted her teeth. _This isn't good. Blade is clearly not a fighter but he's far too fast for me to hit. There's got to be some way I can sense where he is before hand._ _That's it! If I can only get a flower on him or something I can sense._

Usopp screamed.

Neo glanced back. He and several had been hit by Luffy.

"You shouldn't be distracted by others," Blade said.

Neo jumped. He leaned in close to her. She hammered down her desire to run away from him. She used his closeness to slip a flower into his pocket. Then she flew away from him.

Blade chuckled. "You are skittish when someone gets too close."

Neo heard Zoro call out a familiar attack. With a glance she noticed the tornado pulling several of her friends into the air. Kailen snapped out vines and grabbed them. She turned back to Blade and hit him with a gust of wind. He popped out of her attack. She sensed the flower moving. He reappeared to her right. She was ready. She hit him hard with her winds then lifted up a rock and knocked him out. Turning around she rushed to help her friends.

…

"Let's go then," Law said.

"Wait a second." Nana stepped over to a closet. She opened it and pulled out a chain and cuffs.

"Sea prism stone," Law said.

Nana nodded. "This was on a ship that came here once. I kept them when I noticed how Blade was acting. I hoped I never had to use them, but…"

"You've got no choice." Law walked towards the door.

Nana followed him.

…

Neo joined Kailen. With his help they used their earth crystals to wrap up as many monster as they could while trying to stop Luffy and Zoro.

"This is no good," Shachi said dodging a kick from Sanji.

"Hold on a little bit longer," Neo said. "Law's on his way back. That must mean the got the antidote."

"Huh?" Chopper, in his monster form, looked up. "Something's coming down from the air."

Robin grabbed onto several monsters with her many hands. "It's something green."

"What is it?" Franky grabbed two zombies and slammed them together. He dropped them on the ground.

Several monsters stopped moving. They grabbed their throats as if the powder was hurting them.

"Is it the antidote?" Bepo asked.

"No." Blade pushed himself up. "It can't be! I can't lose all the word I've done."

"You've already lost it. Room. Shambles," Law said. Chains fell upon Blade.

"No…sea…p-prism stone." Blade sunk down to the ground.

The monsters fell to the ground as well. Slowly they started changing back to humans.

"What happened?"

"Where are we?"  
"I'm back to normal."

"I have normal hands again."

"We're free!"

Neo sighed. She smiled when reunited with Law and Cora again. Cora woke up and giggled when he saw her. "You silly boy."

"What happened?! What's going on?!"

"Calm down," Nana said. "I'll explain everything."

The former monsters gathered around to listen to her.

Neo smiled. She pulled Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro to her and hugged them. "You're back to normal!"

"Hey! Let go! What's wrong with you?!" Zoro asked.

"I was so worried!" Neo cried. "I thought I'd never see you three again."

"Did something happen?" Luffy asked.

"You got turned into monster," Nami said.

"Luffy! Zoro! Sanji!" Chopper and Usopp joined in the hugging.

"Oh, right," Zoro said. "That."

"I'm glad we're back to normal," Sanji said. "Sorry to have worried you, my sweet fairy."

"At least you're back now." Neo smiled.

…

"Thank you so much for helping us," Nana said.

"My money!" Nami rubbed her cheek against the wad of cash in her hands. "I'm so glad to have you back!"

"I'm glad I was able to refund your money and give you your ships back," Nana said. "Blade hid it all in the underground tunnels. He also hid your ships in a cave. Sorry he tied up all your crewmates that stayed on the sub."

"So the majority of you are staying here?" Shachi asked.

Nana nodded. "This once was a thriving town. So those who lived here still want to stay. Others are only staying until they've build ships the leave." She looked back at the island. It was now full of healthy trees. " And thanks to you elementals we now have enough good trees to make that happen."

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay and help build ships?" Franky asked.

"It's fine. There are a few shipwrights among those taken," Nana said. "It might take a while but we'll be fine."

"I'm glad to hear it," Neo said.

"This place was a lot of fun." Luffy smiled. "We should come back again."

"No! We're not!" Usopp, Chopper, Shachi, and Penguin tackled Luffy to the ground. "We're never coming here again!"

"I can understand that." Nana smiled. "But if you are close by and want to stop in feel free too. I'll be glad to see you all again."

"We'll have to see," Law said. "Time to set sail."

The crews loaded up on the ship and sub and set sail.

"Well, that was something." Neo as they watched the island faded away. "I hope we never have to go through that again.

"I'd like to go again," Luffy, covered in punches, said.

"Shut up!" The ones who attacked him before pounced on him again.

"He'll never learn," Neo said.

Law nodded. He guided Neo and Cora inside of the sub to get some piece and quiet away from Luffy.

...

 **Author's Note: Well, that's it. And I guess it really wasn't all that good. Not a single comment. Lol.**


End file.
